


S.W.O.R.D University for the Unusually Gifted

by LongestWordintheDictionary



Category: DC - Fandom, Marvel, Superhero - Fandom, Supervillain - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Multi, Nick Fury is the president, Very cliche but in a fun way, feel free to suggest heroes and villains from both marvel and dc, if I know them well enough to write about them I will, some of the superhero’s are professors, some of the superhero’s are reader’s classmates, very slightly inspired by community and my hero academia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-14 07:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LongestWordintheDictionary/pseuds/LongestWordintheDictionary
Summary: You couldn’t help catching his contagious smile as he waved to you, slinging a red leather jacket over his shoulder and entering one of the classrooms.“Kelvin 273,” you repeated to yourself, pulling a scrap of paper from your pocket to double check the room number.“Need help freshie?” A broad grin, a scruffy chin, and a pair of sharp blue sunglasses had appeared beside you. “I’m Tony,”***Also known as the story where you and your favorite superheros attend Nick Fury’s government mandated University for (scary) powerful people.





	1. Intro to Diplomacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read end notes for info on suggesting superheroes, and info on the story. In the mean time, please enjoy :)

“From the desk of President Nicholas J Fury, head of S.W.O.R.D University for the Unusually Gifted, 

To Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N), 

It has come to our attention that you are one among many who have developed a level of functionality above that of most humans.

According to Section 13 in the United Nations 2013 Public Safety Among Enhanced Humans Act, you officially fall under the category of “Super-Human” and on your eighteenth birthday, must either comply with the new restrictions that will be placed on you including but not restricted to; 

\- Enforced curfew 

\- Restriction of power usage

\- Enhanced security measures outside of your home country 

Or, attend a three year University with others similar to you, where you’ll undergo behavioral analysis, power and restraint training, and an optional bootcamp should you choose to use your beyond human abilities for the advancement of your world.

Please note that sharing this information with anyone beyond your parent or guardian(s) is strictly prohibited, and may lead to negative repercussions.

We highly recommend that you enlist, however if we have not received your request to enroll by your eighteenth birthday, we will assume that you’ve chosen to accept your new restrictions.

Signed,

Nicholas J Fury”

That was what landed you here in the southern half of Washington State, at a campus so remote, they’d flown you and several other students in on a helicopter.

Other than those students, you hadn’t really met anyone so far. You’d spent most of your time in your dorm setting up your space, and your roommate was MIA for the time being

All of that was gonna change today though, it was the first official day of classes. As you took your first steps up to ‘Kelvin Hall’ a pair of towering glass doors slid open, and the sound of your own heels hitting the floor was drowned out by the commotion of excited students walking to their first class.

Some, you noticed, were using their powers casually. Maybe to help them navigate the halls better, but more likely just to show off on the first day. Either way, you distinctly remembered reading something about a ban on power usage outside of class in your school handbook.

As you looked around, a man with a full head of dirty blonde curls caught your eye. You couldn’t help catching his contagious smile as he waved to you, slinging his red leather jacket over his shoulder and entering one of the classrooms.

“Right, class...Kelvin 273,” you repeated to yourself, pulling a scrap of paper from your pocket to double check the room number.

“Need help freshie?” Someone asked, tapping your shoulder and grinning as you turned to face him. He was clean cut, slick black hair, with a pair of blue tinted glasses just transparent enough to show his eyes.

“Actually yeah, any idea where I can find Kelvin 273?”

He grinned, held up his class schedule, and pointed to the first class listed. “Intro to Power and Responsibility?”

“That’s the one,” You smiled.

“This way.”

He led you over to the door where the man with the red jacket had gone and you noticed the ‘273’ sign.

“I’m Tony by the way,” He continued, flashing a radiant smile.

“(Y/N),” you responded automatically, “Why are you taking an intro course if you’re not a-“ you held your fingers up in air quotes “-freshie.”

“Oh!” He laughed and opened the door to the room. “I’m a freshman too, but chicks dig the upperclassmen persona.”

You nodded, a bit grossed out by his honesty, but also somewhat intrigued. His brand of unapologetic flirting was somehow charming.

The room he’d led you into was full of students, all of them taking seats at the 2 person desks that faced towards the front of the room.

“I promised my roommate I’d sit with him so I gotta go, but I’ll definitely catch you later (Y/N).” He shot two goofy finger guns at you and winked before strutting off to sit down next to a someone else.

Your eyes did a pass over the room looking for seats, and you noticed that the red jacket guy already had a desk mate. Well that idea was out the window. You sighed and accepted the idea of sitting with a complete stranger. Not that red jacket guy wasn’t a stranger, but he’d at least acknowledged you previously which would have given you a conversational in.

Deciding to simply suck it up, you sat down at the closest available seat. The man you sat next to was engrossed in an old leather book, his hands flipping quickly through the pages as he scanned them.

“Hi, I’m (Y/N).” You introduced yourself as you set down your bag and pulled out a notebook.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he responded, eyes still locked on the pages. “My name is Stephen.”

“Nice to meet you.” You searched your brain for conversation topics, but you couldn’t think of anything, and he didn’t seem all that interested in talking, so you elected to pull out your phone and occupy yourself with that until the professor got there.

“Good morning students,” Everyone instantly snapped their attention to the booming voice in the front of the room. You immediately recognized the person speaking as S.W.O.R.D. University’s President, Nick Fury. You glanced over at your desk-mate who had finally found a reason to look up from his book.

“I would introduce myself but I have a feeling that that isn’t necessary so I’ll cut to the chase. You are here because you have a gift, power, curse, whatever you want to call it, and our world leaders have deemed you too dangerous to live among civilians without proper education and training.”

He had every ear in the room locked in on his speech, clearly well versed in commanding an audience “What you choose to do after you earn your freedom back through my unorthodox college is up to you, but know that for most of you, I would recommend pursuing a heroic track and aligning yourselves with S.H.I.E.L.D., I’d like as much as possible to avoid labeling any of you as targets in the future.”

With those somewhat un-encouraging words, he stepped to the side and gestured for someone else to walk in. “This is Professor Rogers, listen to him well and with some luck, I won’t have to see any of you in my office for misconduct. Good luck, and Godspeed.” With that, he exited the room, leaving the somewhat intimidating Professor Rogers to lead the class.

“Welcome to Intro to Power and Responsibility.” He beamed, handing a stack of papers to a student in the front of the room to begin distributing. “The syllabus I’m passing around outlines the objectives of this course but to sum it up, I’m gonna teach you the ABC’s of using your powers without breaking the law, as I’ve been informed some of you have already managed.” He laughed as he spoke, clearly amused by your collective mishaps.

“To start the semester, I want all of you to pair off into 3 groups of 7. This isn’t preschool so I’m not going to assign them, consider this your first lesson in diplomacy, you may begin whenever you’re ready.”

He sat down at his desk as the room lit up with excited conversation.

“(Y/N)!” You heard Tony shout as he ran towards you, his roommate in tow. “Wanna join my awesome group of awesome people?”

You rolled your eyes, unable to hide your amused smile.

“Sure, you in Stephen?”

He looked up at you, glanced around the room to contemplate his options, and nodded.

“Cool that’s four, we just need three more.” Tony grinned and began looking around for available people.

Red jacket guy caught your eye and smiled again. You waved him over and he quickly jogged up next to you.

“Hey, I’m Peter.” He grinned “Based on your wave I assume you’re still looking for a few more?”

“That we are, welcome to the cool group, Peter.” Tony smiled, shoulder checking him with a grin. “I’m gonna go get two more people, you guys make with the introductions.” Tony instructed before waltzing off to work his magic.

“I’m Stephen Strange, he’s Peter, she’s (Y/N), you are?” Stephen cocked his head slightly and nodded to the mystery man.

Tony’s friend looked a little flustered at the question, “Ah, Bruce...Bruce Banner.”

“Sweet! I like you guys already.” Red ja- err, Peter exclaimed, wrapping an arm each around you and Bruce to pull you both in for a side hug.

“A hugger eh?” Tony interrupted, returning to the group with two other students behind him. “This here is-“ Tony turned to one of the students, “what was it again?”

“T’Challa,”

“Right, T,Challa, and this here is our new resident name twin, Mr. Peter Parker.”

“Name twin?” Peter Parker asked.

“Hi, I’m also Peter, Peter Quill. I guess now we get to battle it out over which one of us has to go by their last name.” He laughed, his eyes squinting slightly as he did so.

“Alright class, looks like the groups have been formed so if you could push a few tables together to create space for your whole group to sit together, we can begin.”

As the others began arranging the room, you snuck a quick peak at your syllabus. “Hey guys, it says that the fist day is for team obstacle course power assessments, any idea what that might entail?” You asked, sitting down at your table.

“Aww no, my RA was telling me about this while I was moving in but I thought he was kidding.” Tony sighed, “Looks like there’s no such thing as an easy intro first week at superhero school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Hope you enjoyed, if you’re reading this you’re probably here for one reason, you want to see your favorite superhero make an appearance or two or twenty ;)
> 
> Feel free to leave any suggestions down in the comments, and if I feel like I know them well enough to write them, they’ll find a spot in the story :) After all, I’ve got to fill a class room of 21 and I’ve only defined a third of the students.
> 
> Now more on the story.
> 
> 1\. Why are the avengers ages so off? Tony and Peter Parker are both freshmen??? - Don’t think about it too hard okay? It’s an AU, just suspend your disbelief a little longer, heh
> 
> 2\. You have a lot of relationships with the reader tagged, how is this gonna work? - Tbh, I haven’t decided entirely how this whole thing is gonna play out, so if you’re rooting for a certain hero to have some special moments with the reader, lemme know
> 
> 3\. Will there be smut? - I’m not against writing smut eventually, we’ll just have to build up to it and see what happens.
> 
> 4\. What’s your schedule for updating like? - Whenever I have time, I just finished up a 24 chapter fic that took me a while to finally finish, my hope is that that doesn’t happen here, but I do have a pretty busy life so... who knows
> 
> That’s all! Let me know what you think and drop a kudos if you enjoyed :)
> 
> Xx  
> ~ Ace


	2. Atomic Transmutation-ology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s your first day of classes and it’s already quite obvious that Professor Rogers has no intentions of going easy on you.
> 
> Time to put your teamwork to the test and see if your group will complete the obstacle course from Hell, or fall out of grace with the Professor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter contains swearing, as will most of the chapters. Since many of the characters have canonical “potty mouths” I’m going to write them as such :)

“Welcome to the S.W.O.R.D. training facility, you’ll be spending a lot of time here over the next three years so get used to the sight of it.” Professor Rogers voice boomed through the megaphone that he had held to his mouth.

“How are you guys feeling about this?” Peter P. asked, looking nervously at the obstacle course that spanned before you.

“Don’t wimp out on me, we’ve totally got this.” Tony laughed, narrowing his eyes slightly as he too analyzed the field.

“The goal of this assignment is to see where your powers are at currently, and evaluate your ability to work along side others.” Rogers pointed to the other side of the enormous training facility, “When I blow my whistle, your team may begin trying to get to the end of the course, but be warned, some obstacles will be more difficult for your teammates than they are for you, and your timer doesn’t stop until every member of the team is at the end holding hands. It’s imperative that you work together, or you’ll all fail together.”

“Piece of cake.” Peter Q. grinned, readying himself like he was about to begin a sprint.

“As a reminder, I’ve allowed you to utilize any tech that you may have brought with you to the school, but remember that you’re only to use it to reach the end, no sparring with the other students right now.”

Several of your teammates had their own tech out. Tony had attached something to the bottoms of his shoes that reminded you of heelies, but he insisted that they were far more functional.

T’Challa had a pair of gloves with scarily sharp talons on the end, and Peter had clipped something he called a ‘web-slinger’ to the insides of his shirt sleeves.

You, along with the other three, didn’t have any tech to use so you were going at this without aid. 

Looking over at the other two teams, they appeared to be just as nervous as you felt. One of the teams you noticed was a person short, and you weren’t gonna lie, you felt a little bad for them. 

A man from the team to your right looked in your direction, and you noticed the black scarf tied around his eyes. Was he expecting to do this blindfolded? Some people just loved to show off. He smiled at you, mouthing something you couldn’t understand before the whistle sounded and everyone took off.

The first obstacle was a rock wall, however the rocks were spaced so far apart from each other, you had to leap from hold to hold.

Tony was the first to the wall and as he got there, he turned to you all and grinned devilishly. 

Without warning, he blasted himself skyward, the bottoms of his shoes seeming to contain jets. “What do you think of my heelies now (Y/N)!” He laughed, rocketing up to the top. 

“Cool!” You called up to him as T’Challa dug his claws into the wall and used them to swing up to the first hold.

“Anyone need help up?” He asked, reaching down with a clawed hand and a soft smile.

“Any chance those are retractable?” Bruce laughed softly, examining the pointed tips and weighing his options.

“Hmm... I hadn’t really thought about that..” He admitted bashfully.

“Don’t worry about it, the spider master has got you covered Bruce!” Peter P. bragged, stepping up to the wall and cracking his knuckles for effect.

“The Spider Master?” Peter Q. laughed, leaping up onto the wall himself and following T’Challa’s path as best as he could without claws.

“Yeah, for a Super Name,” Peter P. explained, like how Professor Steve goes by Captain America.”

“That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.” Stephen murmured, walking up to the wall and summoning a myriad of orange sparks with the wave of his hands. A pair of glowing circles appeared around his fists and he began to simply float upwards.

“Woah...” You whispered, now directing your attention to Peter P., who was shooting thread from his wrists and using it to secure Bruce to himself. 

“You got a way up (Y/N)?” He asked, pressing his finger tips to the wall and looking back at you with a grin.

“Mm hmm, see you on the other side Spider Master.” You winked and his cheeks went pink.

Carefully, you stepped up to the wall, hands shaking slightly out of nerves. You’d never done this in front of more than a few people before and one might say you were experiencing a bit of performance anxiety. 

“You coming?” Peter P. Asked, crawling up the side of the wall with Bruce strapped to his back.

“Yeah, just a second.” You called up, steadying your hands as you pressed your fingertips against, and then into the wall. Slowly, they pushed through the stone, and the rest of you followed. 

It wasn’t exactly comfortable, passing through an object. To do so, you had to become one with it in a quite literal sense. But it was worth it as you emerged on the other side and looked up to see a rather wide eyed Tony Stark staring at you.

“What the actual-? What even is your ability?” He shouted, forgoing the rope that led to the bottom, instead leaping off of the edge of the rock wall and slowing his descent with the jets in his heels.

“Atomic transmutation.” You responded, noting that everyone had made it to the top, including a rather winded looking Peter Quill.

“Honestly fuck you guys, I just climbed that beast with my raw will power.” He huffed, breathing heavily as T’Challa placed a comforting hand on his back.

“Down we go.” Peter P. laughed, leaping onto the rope and sliding down it with ease, despite Bruce’s continued presence on his back.

As the rest of the gang reached the bottom, T’Challa cut Bruce free from the webbing, and everyone grouped up. 

“Okay, we probably should have gone over this before the drill but that was a giant oversight that we can correct now.” Stephen began, “What exactly can everyone do? I’ll start. I’m a sorcerer, I can manipulate space and energy to accomplish a myriad of goals.”

“I’m basically a genius and I have a lot of cool robots and tech fixtures that let me do awesome shit.” Tony grinned.

“I am imbued with the power of the black panther, which improves my physical abilities immensely. Also, my little sister often creates interesting things for me to utilize such as these gloves.” 

“Dude your sister made those? Why isn’t she here? I want stabby gloves!” Peter Q. exclaimed.

“Still too young, but I’m sure she’ll find her way here when her time comes.” T’Challa smiled fondly.

“Bonding is great and all but we’re still in the middle of a drill, next person?” Stephen reminded.

“I can turn into an enormous and powerful green monster, but mainly it’s when I’m hurt or especially angry, and I can’t actually control the monster very well, so I avoid changing as much as possible.”

“Sick!” Both Peters shouted at nearly the same time, before looking at each other with excited grins.

“Jinx!” Again in sync.

“This isn’t time for games, one of you talk.”

“I’m the spider master! I shoot webs and take names.” 

“Um, my dad is a god or something which I guess just makes me good at punchin and shootin people.” Peter Quill shrugged.

“I can change the elemental makeup of my body to match anything on the periodic table. Although I haven’t really messed with any of the radioactive stuff yet so I can’t say for sure.”

They all nodded as you began talking, now understanding how you’d passed through the wall.

“I can also sometimes turn things into other things but I haven’t figured that out completely either so...yeah.” Trying to explain your abilities proved trickier than you expected, but they all seemed to get the idea.

“So you’re basically any science geek’s wet dream?” Tony smirked as you went pale. 

“It appears the other teams are taking on the next obstacle, you guys wanna continue now?” Already you had grown thankful for Stephen’s skills in redirecting an uncomfortable conversation.

“Hell yeah!” Was the collective consensus as you all rushed onward to the pool of sticky brown fluid in front of you. Seemingly the only way across was via a thin tightrope that stretched its length.

“I’m pretty sure I had a dream like this one time.” Peter Q. laughed, about to step onto the tightrope before Stephen pulled him back with a cautionary reminder.

“Let’s not be hasty, I don’t think any of us are graceful enough to pull off something like that. Peter?”

“Yes?” They both responded in unison again.

“Okay that’s annoying, from now on, you’re Quill, and you’re Parker, got it?”

They both nodded.

“Good, Parker, can you use your webbing to widen our bridge a little?” Stephen seemed to be taking on the role of leader quite naturally.

“Absolutely!” Peter excitedly got to work, shooting up the bridge to widen it, allowing your whole team to safely make it across.

You stole a glance over to the other groups who were also figuring a way across the sticky pool, some more successfully than others.

The man in the mask had simply walked the tightrope like normal, which had you in awe. At the same time though, a bald man with wrinkled and dried up looking skin was playing around on tightrope, bouncing up and down and daring to dip his feet into the sticky substance. His teammates, including the man in the mask, didn’t look very amused.

“Two down, two to go.” Bruce narrated as you all approached the next obstacle. It was an empty boxing ring, the path continuing on the other side.

“This is a trap right?” Quill whispered loudly.

“Of course not,” Tony rolled his eyes at the obvious statement.

“Cool,” Peter smiled, failing to pick up the sarcastic tone, and climbing up between the ropes. 

“Quill!” Stephen hissed, “What are you doing? Come back here!”

“Look, I’m fine!” Peter assured, dancing around the ring, “No need to wor-“ 

Mid way through his third dab, a robot twice his size fell from the ceiling, nearly crushing poor Peter as he yelped and rolled out of the way.

Bruce groaned, “You mind if I sit this one out?” 

“Sure buddy,” Tony clapped a hand on his shoulder with a grin. “Everyone else, time to kick some ass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed lemme know, and again, if there are any hero’s you want to see in the story, lemme know!
> 
> Any guesses who the heroes that you’ve been watching on the other team are? Or who the missing person on their team is? 
> 
> If you enjoyed, drop a comment or a kudos to lemme know ^.^ until next time, have a lovely day,
> 
> Xx  
> Ace


	3. Competitive Chess Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race to the end continues as the gang faces off against some robotic foes. Just two obstacles left!

One by one, you all climbed into the ring and as you did, a new robot appeared for each of you.  
They swung their arms wildly, each targeting a different person, except for Tony who had also attracted Bruce’s robot.

You sized up your own, gulping slightly. A pressured situation... great.

A giant metal arm came sweeping towards you and you dove out of the way, but not before it got a hit on your leg, sending you flying face first towards the ground.

What you hit though was not the floor of the ring, but the torso of a person, who instinctively wrapped an arm around you, stumbling back a bit to lessen the impact.

“Well I guess I’m good at three things, punchin, shootin, and catchin.” Quill’s voice chimed as you looked up to meet his eyes.

“Thanks.” 

“Hey, teammates gotta look out for each other.” He beamed, setting you down and resting a hand on your shoulder. “Now get back out there and turn that tin can into a moose or, whatever it is you do.” He turned mid sentence and gripped the end of a metallic arm with the palm of his hand. “Not today shit head!”

Your own robot had set it’s sights on someone else, Parker actually. 

Dodging and weaving across the ring, you slid to a stop next to the boy who was currently attempting to wrap one of them up in his webbing.

You inhaled deeply, pushing down your nerves and analyzing the situation. It appeared that the only way you would be able to touch one of the robots long enough to transmute it into something else, was if you could get behind it, and out of the reach of it’s arms.

“Peter, could you give me a boost?” 

“Boost how?” He asked, yanking on the webbing to tighten his hold on the flailing machine.

“Up on the back of that one.” You pointed to the robot that was currently free and attempting to swing at the both of you as you dodged around.

“Oh, sure!” He smiled and with a giant burst of strength, tugged the tied up robot to the ground.

Dropping the web, he ran up behind you and wrapped his hands around your waist.

“Ready?” You asked, looking back at him.

His grip faltered, “Uh, err, yeah.” He stuttered, as both of you ducked under an arm. 

“Don’t drop me Parker.” You grinned as he tightened his grip again.

“That’s the plan.” And with a slightly strained sound, he launched you into the air.

“We got a flyer.” Tony laughed, as you reached out and gripped the head of a robot.

“Holy crap I can’t believe that worked!” You shouted excitedly, steadying yourself on its shoulders.

“Pete, can you keep me from getting hit?” You asked of the boy who’d just launched you, but got a response from both.

“Sure!”

“Hell yeah!”

You laughed softly, trusting they could keep the other attackers at bay as you closed your eyes and concentrated.

Number 13, Aluminum, you picked up as you began reading it’s construction. If you could convert all of the aluminum elements into oxygen, the rest of it should just fall apart. You scrunched up your eyes, ripping apart atoms to reconnect protons, neutrons, and electrons in different configurations. You could feel the metal beneath you weakening, softening under your grip before becoming a part of the air, leaving you to drop to the ground with it’s non aluminum parts.

You stumbled slightly on the landing, but popped back up and looked around quickly. All of the other robots had been hacked, slashed and punched to death.

“That was so cool!” Parker exclaimed, running up to you and offering up his hand for a high five, which you gladly met.

Bruce climbed up into the ring along side the rest of you, looking a little ashamed.

“Hey, don’t feel bad buddy, you’re a valuable member of the team, even when you’re not up here punching the lights out of dummy bots.” Tony assured as your group moved out of the ring and headed for the final obstacle. 

As you looked over at the other teams, you saw the man with the mask flip into the air and take their last bot down with a steady kick.

“The other teams are close behind us.” You informed as your group slid to a stop in front of the last challenge.

“What the hell is this?” Quill asked for everyone else who was already thinking it.

Two sets of stairs spiraled up to an enormous podium that towered above you. Directly below the podium was a 5x5 grid, a line of 5 robots standing one per square on the row farthest from you.

“I think it’s a puzzle.” Bruce supplied causing everyone to turn to him. “Think about it,” he continued. “They’ve tested our strength, agility, and combat skills so far, but this school takes in plenty of mentally gifted students too, and this course is meant to test everyone’s abilities.”

“So this is a mental challenge, sweet!” Tony grinned, running for the stairs.

“Wait,” Stephen called after him, and Tony skidded to a stop. “I think they want us to split up between the top and bottom.”

“Ah yeah, two on top to call the shots, five on the bottom to fight.” Bruce suggested.

“Well then obviously I should be up top.” Tony huffed, continuing for the stairs.

“I’m not so sure Tony,” Bruce continued. “I think you should stay down here to fight, I’ll take the wizard-“

“Sorcerer,” Stephen corrected.

“Right, the two of us should head up top, I have a feeling we’ll need you down here.” 

Tony scowled, but seeing the degree of seriousness on his roommate’s face, he yielded and trudged back over to the group.

“Fine, get up there, but you better know what you’re doing Banner.” Tony warned, though there was a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Bruce and Stephen began ascending the stairs as the rest of you walked up to the grid. The squares were in a black and white pattern like a small chess board, and the dawning seemed to hit everyone at once as a voice came on through the speakers.

“Hey, can you hear us?” It was Bruce, and looking up confirmed that. The two of them were looking down at you through a glass floor, microphones in hand.

“The bots each have a symbol marked on the top of their head,” Stephen explained, “And they match different chess pieces. The one in the middle has a crown for a king, to his left is the knight and the bishop, and to his right is the queen and the rook.” 

“I don’t even play chess but something tells me this isn’t how the board is usually set.” Quill murmured.

“It seems each of you are supposed to take on the role of a chess piece that best matches your own abilities. For example, Tony, your thrusters make you most similar to the knight, who has a horse to travel upon.” Stephen told you.

“Aww noooo, I wanted to be the king.” Tony whined.

“Peter Quill, you’re the most tank like of the group, I think you’re supposed to be the rook.”

“Hell yeah!” Peter shouted, jumping onto the square across from the opposing rook.

“Peter wait-“ 

The square beneath him lit up, and a suit of armor appeared around him. Peter admired it, wild eyed and excited. “This is so cool!”

“Well now that you’re officially locked in, please don’t step off of your square until you’re told to.” Stephen sighed, rubbing his temples to calm down. 

“You got it boss!”

“I’m gonna step onto the knight square then, yeah?” Tony asked.

“Go for it.”

As tony stepped onto the square, a small robotic horse appeared beneath him, much to his surprise. 

“Woah! Well that’s nifty.” He beamed, petting it’s metal head as if it were real.

“(Y/N), let me ask you a serious question.” Stephen began.

“Okay?”

“In theory, could you turn water into wine?”

You paled as everyone began laughing. “You want me to step onto the bishop square Stephen?”

“If you could, yes that would be great.” He himself was struggling to hold in his laughter as you took a step onto the square in question.

However, unlike the other two who’s squares lit up as they stepped on, you were flung backwards through the air, and would have crash landed back into the boxing ring had it not been for Parker’s quick web slinging. You were caught mid air and pulled back to him like a pair of tango dancers preparing for a dip.

“Hilarious.” You grunted, ramming into Peter’s chest as he caught you.

“Sorry.” Peter was looking down at you, eyes wide as he quickly retracted his webs, stepped back, and recomposed himself.

“No but seriously, you’re the only girl in the group, step onto the Queen square.” Stephen commanded, still laughing slightly.

“Somehow, this feels a little bit sexist.” You remarked playfully as the Queen square lit up beneath you and a tiara dropped onto your head. 

“T’Challa, you’re an actual king back home correct?” Bruce asked.

“Prince, but I get the point.” T’Challa stepped onto the King square beside you, smiling softly as it lit up and the crown fell onto his head.

“Why am I the bishop?”

“Process of elimination?” Bruce supplied as Peter stepped onto the bishop square and it lit up. 

“Now what?” Quill asked staring down the rook across from him.

“Assumably this works like chess. We want to capture their king and to do so we’re gonna have to knock around a few metal heads.” The tone in Bruce’s voice said he already had a plan.

“So who goes first?” You asked.

“Us, though I have a feeling that this game isn’t going to follow many of the official rules.”

“Let’s test that theory shall we? Quill, try to run straight ahead and attack the robot bishop in front of you. That’ll keep it from swinging at Peter, and get you in next to their Knight who won’t be able to counter attack.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Peter grinned, running up to the robot and landing a solid blow on it before it disintegrated. “Did I do it?”

You could hear the muffled voices of Bruce and Stephen conversing before they returned to continue giving directions.

“Great job Peter!” You grinned, giving him the thumbs up. His face went beet red and you had to wonder, had he exerted himself that much, or was it something else.

A back and forth happened several times, one by one each of you knocking out robots, and getting knocked out until it came down to you and T’Challa against their king.

“Checkmate.” T’Challa grinned, staring down the bot.

“Ah, not yet technically but good try.” Bruce stuttered, examining the board for the best option.

“(Y/N), you can take their king in two moves if you and T’Challa work together.” Stephen informed you, laying out the plan. 

Sure enough, it only took 2 more moves for you to reach the king and get a hand on it. You didn’t even have to use your power, it fell apart all on it’s own.

“We did it!” T’Challa shouted, grinned from ear to ear as he raced across the board to you and picked you up in an excited hug. He kept his cool and didn’t seem flustered by the embrace, which allowed you to simply enjoy the victory hug. 

“Group hug!” You heard Quill shout as everyone swarmed the two of you, including Bruce and Stephen who had just hit the bottom of the steps.

Wrapped up in a huddle of excited smiles, exhausted arms, and soft pants, you could feel every ounce of joy that the others were feeling. And, though you’d only known these people for a few hours, it was clear to everyone that this crew had something special going for it, you just couldn’t quite put your finger on it yet.

“Guys, the race!” Tony reminded, jetting out of the hug and hovering above you to look at the other teams. “We can still make it there first if we run!” He shouted, blasting towards the end platform as everyone took off in an all out sprint.

“Go go go go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little disclaimer: I do, and will be doing a decent amount of research to make reader’s power believable, but I’ll probably still write in some scientific inaccuracies, and when that happens, kindly let it slip if you notice ;) 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, leave a comment or a kudos to lemme know!
> 
> Have a lovely day,  
> Xx Ace


	4. Intro to Roommate Wrangling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race to the end is almost over! Who will win? Who’s behind the mask? And what’s next for you and your crew of odd balls?

Footsteps pounded heavy on the turf. Those with speedy abilities rocketed forwards as everyone else did their best to keep up. 

You weren’t exactly out of shape, but a few months ago, your nightly routine had consisted of snacks and a Netflix binge session, so you’d definitely lost some of that infinite childhood stamina. That being said, most of the others weren’t in top physical condition either, so you kept a pretty even pace with them.

“Care for a lift m’lady?” It was Tony, who was hovering just above your head, arms stretching down as he flew above you.

“Heh, I suppose so,” you panted and he quickly gripped your elbows, prompting you to do the same with his. The moment you made contact, your feet flew out from beneath you, and you were blasted forward, an enormous grin overtaking your face. “Holy moly, this is amazing!” 

“I know!”

Flying was somehow even better than the movies made it seem. It was electrifying and energizing, adrenaline pumping into every single nerve ending and lighting up the blurry world that couldn’t seem to keep up with you. You were on air, Tony’s grip around your forearms keeping you grounded even while you were so far from it.

To your disappointment, he began slowing to a stop, his grip on you tightening even more. With a graceful spin, he maneuvered himself into an upright position and pulled you into his chest with a twirl. He had a grin plastered across his face as your toes gently touched down beyond the finish line.

“Wow,” was all you could muster.

“First time flyer?” He asked, wrapping his hand around yours.

Your heart was beating in your ears so heavily that you’d hardly processed what he’d said as another hand grabbed ahold of yours. It was rougher than Tony’s, a slight tremble coming from it that wasn’t just from nerves or exhaustion.

As your brain cleared, you realized it was Stephen, looking forward stoically as the rest of your team joined you and linked hands. 

“Team One has made it to the end!” Roger’s voice chimed as you looked around at the smiling line of faces that stood beside you. “Team Two has also made it to the end, and now Team Three!”

“We finished first!” Quill cheered, everyone leaping around excitedly.

“That was a close one though, I would have thought that the chess game would have put more distance between teams.” Bruce noted.

“I guess we must all be pretty evenly matched.” Stephen murmured, and from your peripheral vision, you noticed him glancing down at the spot of contact between the two of you. He swallowed heavily and looked away from the touch. Like a startled animal, he pulled his hand away and tepidly ran his other fingers over the back of his hand.

“Fantastic job to each of you,” Rogers boomed cheerfully through his megaphone. “I’ll run your stats and have them back to you by next class so you know where you’re starting from. For now, go grab some lunch and take the rest of the day to get to know your teammates better, you’ll be working closely with them for the rest of the semester so it would be wise to know them well. Dismissed.”

“Wow,” Tony interjected, grabbing everyone’s attention in the process. “Can’t believe that was just the first class, I think I’m either gonna end up dropping out or loving this place.”

“So, lunch together then?” Parker prompted.

A collective “mm hmm” settled it.

“Hey,” a rough voice that you didn’t recognize sounded from behind you, and you turned to face it. The guy with the mask, who you’d admittedly been watching throughout the class, had approached you.

“Hey, you’re really amazing! Where’d you learn to fight like that?” You asked excitedly.

“I had a pretty skilled mentor growing up,” he laughed softly and extended his hand into the space between you. “I’m Matt.”

“(Y/N),” You replied, shaking it. 

“Aw yeah, I saw you out there!” Quill exclaimed as he burst into the conversation. “Can you teach me how to do a backflip like that?” There was an almost adorable amount of hope in his voice, and Matt’s laugh in response was deep and sincere. 

“Sure thing, ahh,”

“Peter!... Quill!...I’m Peter Quill, but that’s also a Peter,” He gestured to Parker, “so you can call me Quill.”

“Well Quill,” Matt rummaged around his his pockets before pulling out his phone. “This is my number, you can call me sometime and I can teach you, and you,” He gestured to you, “How to do a standing flip or whatever you wanted to learn.” 

“Awesome!” Peter pulled out his own phone and added Matt to his contacts.

“Ah, and if you don’t mind, could you put yourself in my phone too? If you press the little microphone button in the bottom left you can also say your name into it so I know who’s calling.”

“Okay....” Peter furrowed his eyebrows and gave Matt a small side eye as he did what was asked.

“Oh, are you?” The word didn’t quite make it out of your mouth, but when Matt pulled his mask off, he told it all without speaking. The eyes behind it were joyful, but out of focus. 

“Blind, yes, and yes, I can do cool flips as you put it Quill.”

Peter grinned, understanding now.

“Which is of course, why I’m here. You (Y/N), are far more impressive than myself however, what was it, Atomic Transmutation?”

“How did you?”

“Heightened senses, that’s the so called ‘ability’ that got me here.” 

“Got it-“ You began.

“(Y/N), Quill, you coming or what?” Tony asked, himself and the group already headed for the door.

“One sec!” You called back, “Wanna eat with us?” You turned to Matt.

“I would but, Wade, err one of my teammates,” he explained, “already suggested that my team eat together too, rain check?”

“Definitely, see you later Matt, um...” You paused, prompting him to finish.

“Murdock.” He supplied with a friendly smile that was framed by his scruffy chin.

“That dude was so cool!” Peter whisper yelled as soon as you’d walked away.

“Right?”

“Glad you’re impressed,” You heard Matt laugh and a blush overtook your face, remembering the ability that you’d just been introduced to.

“You weren’t suppose to hear th-“ but as you turned to try and diffuse the awkward moment, he was already gone.

***

Lunch was incredibly fun. The dining hall food was pretty good for what it was, and after comparing your schedules you realized that since you were all in your first semester, you shared a lot of the mandatory beginner classes. That meant that the group had Intro to Power and Responsibility, Abilities & Equipment 1001, and Year 1 Moral Assessments together. You also shared your other two classes with some of the group members, which was comforting to know.

The schedule at S.W.O.R.D was unlike anything you’d seen before. Each student was to take five classes a semester, each one blocked out for a whole school day with a lunch break interjected at a time deemed fit by the professor. Thus, each class took up one day of the school week, with weekends off. 

It was a weird system, but it meant that each professor could have ample time to prepare for and then dive into each subject that they covered. It also meant that if they let out early, you had the rest of the day off, like today.

“So what are you guys planning on doing with the rest of your day?” Parker asked between mouthfuls of mac n cheese.

“No clue, I was kinda expecting to be in class for most of it.” T’Challa laughed.

“Same here.” Bruce agreed.

“The rest of my stuff is supposed to get here today so I’m gonna finish unpacking.” You shared, adding a bit more salt to your meal.

“You still haven’t unpacked all the way?” Tony seemed baffled.

“Nah, most of my stuff got held up in shipping so I’ve been living out of my backpack this weekend.” 

“Wait so you haven’t unpacked like, at all?” Quill also seemed shocked. “And I thought I was behind for not having pulled out my toothbrush yet.”

“You haven’t been brushing your teeth?” Stephen wrinkled up his nose and leaned away from Peter.

“No I have, I’ve just been using my finger and my roomie’s toothpaste.” He scratched at the back of his neck and shrugged apologetically.

“Speaking of roommates, everyone else have as good of luck as Bruce and I?” Tony asked, slinging his arm around his roommate’s shoulder with a toothy smile.

“I don’t have a roommate, I reserved a single room ahead of time.” T’Challa explained.

“Mine is okay, he’s a bit loud and doesn’t quite understand the concept of boundaries, but he’s obnoxiously nice and has an interesting artifact that he’s agreed to let me examine at some point.” Stephen shared.

“I haven’t met mine yet cause he’s almost never there. Somehow he still manages to make giant messes and move my stuff around though.” Parker lamented, clearly frustrated by it.

“Mine hasn’t even shown up yet,” you sighed. “I suppose it’s a good thing though since I’ve got some of my boxes taking up her side of the room. What about you Quill?”

You looked over at Peter who had gone silent, his face paler than snow.

“I, uh, um, well, see,” He stuttered.

“You okay?” 

“Yeah uh...Pete?” Quill squeaked, “Do you happen to use Crest 3D white toothpaste?”

Parker’s eyes narrowed as his happy expression morphed onto a glare. “Mother freaking you’re kidding me! You’re the mess maker aren’t you!?”

“I might be...are you in Xavier 223?” 

Parker stood up, smacking his hands onto the top of his head and groaning. “That’s why my toothpaste keeps going missing! You need to open your darn boxes! They’ve been sitting on your bed all weekend and... where have you even been sleeping? I haven’t seen you in our room a single time!” Despite his frustration, you could still hear a hint of concern in his voice.

“In my ship man! I’ve been meaning to officially move into our room cause the Milano doesn’t have running water, but my mattress on the ship is too comfy and I haven’t felt like moving it up.”

“You have a ship?” Tony asked excitedly “Like a space-ship ship?”

“Well duh, what other kind of ship would I mean? A water ship? Where would I even park it?” Quill rolled his eyes as if it were obvious.

“Where do you even park a space ship?” Bruce asked, apparently sharing your own confusion.

“In the hangar, just like everyone else.”

“The school has an aircraft hanger?” Tony’s jaw dropped.

“Well duh, the rest of the galaxy has to get around somehow. You guys think this place only teaches oddities who live on earth? Of course not, if you want to even visit here for any extended amount of time, you have to get certified to show that you’re not gonna go on a murder spree or something. It’s a pain in the ass, which is why no one ever comes to visit this blue shit hole.” He explained.

“If it’s a shit hole, why are you taking the time to get certified then?” Stephen asked over his mug of tea.

“Wouldn’t you want to still have access to your home planet if you were out bouncing around in space all the time? Plus, I like the food and the music okay?” He turned to look Parker in the eyes, running a hand nervously through his hair. “I’m sorry for being such a pig, guess I didn’t realize just how much of my mess was creeping over from the Milano. If I clean up can we call it even and put it behind us?”

Parker scratched thoughtfully at his chin, a small smile slowly creeping onto his face. “I suppose so but,” he grinned and placed his palms flat on the table. “You have to give me the grand tour of your cool space ship, and promise to stop using my toothpaste.”

“Done!” Quill extended his hand and they shook on it.

“And on that note, you guys ready to go?” Tony asked, standing up. 

“Go where?”

“Well to help (Y/N) And Quill unpack the rest of their stuff of course! That’s what friends do right?”

“We’re already putting the friend label on this crew?” Stephen laughed.

“Why not?”

“I don’t need help guys I’m fine.” You assured.

“Come on (Y/N), it’s not like any of us have something better to do!” Tony reminded, lifting you by the arm and patting your back.

“Tony, I think this constitutes as an invasion of privacy, we’ve known each other for less than a day, you can’t expect either of them to be fine with you going through their things.” Stephen reminded, looping an arm through yours and pulling you away from the eager genius. 

“Fine party pooper, if not that though, we should at the very least celebrate our sweet victory from today!” 

“Now that, I can get behind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you oodles for reading! Apologies if this chapter was a bit dialogue heavy, I wanted to sneak in a little exposition to try and make the story make some more sense, but also keep it interesting :)
> 
> As always, if you enjoyed or have a suggestion, feel free to leave me a comment or a kudos! They really make me smile <3
> 
> Have a lovely day,  
> Xx Ace


	5. Bio I - The Science of Life & Trouser Controlling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get a move on! Quill needs help moving his mattress, and hey, maybe you’ll meet some new...foreign friends. Listen... things happen okay and I can’t apoligize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen I warned you that this fic would be filled with cliches... so you can’t blame me when you get to the end and see what I’ve done.

“Heave!!!” 

“Ho!!”

This semi ridiculous call and repeat led by Quill had been going on for about 30 minutes as your group struggled to move a spring mattress across the campus.

Sure, Tony had brought along some tech that could be useful, and Stephen had simply offered to levitate it, but Quill had somehow convinced all of you that it would be a great team building exercise.

So here you were in the home stretch, their dorm room door in sight, painfully aware of the deep ache in your muscles.

“What in Odin’s name are you doing roomie?”

The last word of that sentence sounded entirely unnatural rolling off of the tongue who spoke it.

“Hey buddy, just helping one of my teammates for Roger’s class, move.” Stephen remarked with a grunt as the group dropped the mattress to the ground.

“You must be Thor.” You smiled, acknowledging the man sporting a red cape and head of long blond hair.

“That I am, and who might you be my lady?” He bowed playfully, though somehow also seeming serious.

“(Y/N),” 

“Pleasure to meet you Lady (Y/N).” He took one of your hands in his, laying a soft kiss to your fingers and looking up at you through his soft, smiling, eyes.

“Keep it in your pants Goldilocks.” Tony snickered under his breath, still loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I thought you were going out with your brother tonight.” Stephen prompted as the Peters struggled back and forth to get the door to their room open.

“I was, but the tricky little serpent appears to have left without me, knowing full well that our father explicitly said he was not to leave the campus without my presence.” Thor sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it somehow messier than it already was.

“Guess we know why he dashed then.” Bruce laughed dryly.

“Got it!” Quill shouted triumphantly as the door swung open.

“Well bud, if your brother doesn’t show up, let me know and you can come hang with us, I think we’re grabbing some pizza later.” Stephen extended the invite and the rest of you nodded in approval.

“What is Pizza?”

“Ah right, second time on earth. Y’know, you’ll find out later if you eat with us.”

Thor happily clapped a hand on the sorcerers shoulder.

“Excellent, I shall send a bird if I am able to come!”

“Not a bird, a tweet. Remember, I set up twitter on your phone last night.”

“A tweet, yes! I shall...slide into your DM’s!”

“Holy shit Strange you taught the man to make awful pop culture references already?” Tony burst out laughing.

“He kept asking questions and I kept answering.” Stephen shrugged.

“Well you have a bed to move and I have a brother to find, so I shall see you later friend Strange.” He bowed slightly in your direction, “Lady (Y/N), and the rest of you’” And with one more flashy smile, he waltzed down the hall and out the door.

“What a character.” 

“That man was very interesting.” T’Challa murmured, shoving the mattress forward into the room. 

“Damn, Parker was right, this place is a junk yard Quill! How do you make this much mess if you don’t even sleep here?” Tony picked up an empty pizza box and chucked it into the corner. 

“Hey, some of this is actually his doing!”

***

The next few hours were spent switching mattresses and moving all the mess out to a dumpster. You were thankful for the group dynamic that had blossomed. Tony’s brand of sarcasm provided some much needed humor, and went right over the heads that it would anger most of the time. On the other side of the spectrum, Stephen, Bruce, and T’Challa kept everyone else from veering off course and/or accidentally killing themselves.

“What the hell Quill? How did you go 20 years without dying?” Bruce gasped as he swatted a screwdriver that was dangerously close to the opening of an outlet out of his hand. 

“I wasn’t gunna fuckin put it in, geez you’re like the amalgamation of everyone I’ve ever made-out with!”

“Everyone? More than just girls?” Tony waggled is brows.

“Hey, most planets don’t recognize gender like Earth, and even when they do it’s not just male and female you closed minded monkey fucker.” There was a hint of venom in his voice, touchy subject perhaps?

“Easy there Star King, I was just messing with you, bone whatever you want, I’m not judging.”

“This man is a king?” A voice came through the door as it swung open revealing a grinning Thor.

“Not exactly-“ Quill began to correct but he was cut off.

“A lord then, it is nice to know you Lord of Stars.”

At this, Quill perked up. “Lord of Stars, I like that, suck on that Tony, I’m the fuckin Star-Lord!”

“Any luck finding your brother?” Stephen asked, shaking the dust off of his hands and walking over.

“Ah yes,” Thor reached just outside the door and pulled in a scrawny man with a rather pitiful look on his face. “Loki does not often escape me for long.” 

“Loki, nice to meet you, you a God too?” 

Loki sneered and jerked away from his brother’s touch. “Duh...you got anything to drink? My king sized ball and chain refuses to take me out to a single Midgardian club.”

“None of us are old enough to drink.” Stephen sighed in annoyance.

Laughter exploded from Tony and Quill, almost at the same time.

“Yeah no, I’ve got the good stuff in my room.” Tony informed. “Finally someone interesting.”

“You do?” Bruce seemed shocked.

“It’s okay, I stashed a couple bottles of Jack Daniels under Peter’s bed yesterday.” Quill laughed, bending down to fish them out.

“You did??” Peter dropped down on the floor next to his roommate. “What if someone found these? I could have gotten suspended! I wouldn’t get to be the spider master!”

“Spider master?” Loki snickered.

“Yeah, it’s his dumb hero name.” Tony grinned, grabbing a bottle of Jack from Quill.

Maybe the group dynamic wasn’t as good as you’d initially thought.

“If you’re turning this into a party I’m afraid I’m inclined to leave.” T’Challa headed for the door.

“No! No parties!” Parker shouted, running up and snatching the bottles of alcohol from the others. 

“Hey! You can’t just-“

“No drinking in our room! Unlike you guys I actually want to be here so please don’t do anything stupid that’s gonna get me in trouble!”

“I second that,” Bruce added.

“Fine,” Tony easily pulled the bottles back “We’ll keep it on the down low okay?” His eyes were solemnly serious as he and Peter shot daggers at each other.

After a few more seconds, Peter looked away “Fine, but no one else comes in here while you three earn yourselves hangovers before tomorrow.

“Thanks kid,” Tony grinned, ruffling the smaller boy’s hair.

“Kid? I’m your age!”

“You 18?”

“Of course.”

“Then you’re not. I’m 20, so nana nana boo boo I win.” Triumphantly, he stuck out his tongue and unscrewed the bottle. “Bottoms up boys!”

***

Now, when you’d graduated from high school, you had expected to move on to college. In line with the classic college experience, you’d also expected things to get a little crazy at a party occasionally. However, you most certainly hadn’t expected it to happen on your first day of classes, and furthermore not with a bunch of mutants and wizards. Drunk Super Humans...now that was something interesting.

Somehow along the way, Tony had convinced everyone but Bruce (who was ‘straight edge’ as Parker put it, for health reasons) to take at least one shot... but for most people the one shot escalated into several more.

Now, there’s a common joke about all the different types of drunks that you’ll find in a given bar, but after a few hours of watching from the sidelines with Bruce you’d realized that the same stereotypes didn’t always apply when it came to your group.

Of course for some it still did. Tony was a charismatic drunk, talking up everyone in the room as if they were the President of the United States or... Beyoncé, as he’d offhandedly called you. 

And T’Challa was a sleepy drunk. He’d join the conversation occasionally, but generally preferred to sit back and watch. He sat with you and Bruce for the most part.

For others however, you had a feeling that they would be entirely different people right now if it weren’t for their enhanced abilities. 

Stephen for example, had adopted the persona of a children’s birthday magician. For the past hour, he’d been keeping both Peters entertained as he created miraculous things out of the shimmering orange sparks that seemed to simply flow from his unsteady fingers.

Peter Parker, whom you were fairly certain had never even smelled alcohol in his life, had gotten absolutely white girl wasted and when he wasn’t busy watching Strange, he was antagonizing a small house spider that had made a web in the corner of the room. “I’m you, but stronger!” He kept muttering, spinning his own sad web of sorts to try and one-up the creature.

Peter Quill, who claimed to only by good at punchin and shootin, had been living up to at least one of those qualities. Somewhere along the line, his hands had landed on Thor’s bicep, and in a flash of either awe or jealousy, he’d challenged the man to an arm wrestling competition. Thor, who the alcohol seemed to have no measurable effect on, agreed after a small speech about duty and pride. Maybe he was actually just perpetually intoxicated, because his normal demeanor wasn’t very different from that of a drunk.

After all was said and done, Thor won and informed a heartbroken Peter that he never actually had a fair chance, because he was in fact, a god.

“Oh yeah, well I’m half god so fuck you!” Had been the last words out of Peter’s mouth before he took at swing at Thor’s face. The god didn’t attempt to dodge the blow, but he also didn’t really look any worse for ware after the fact.

“What in the hell Quill?” T’Challa grabbed his fuming friend and pulled him back by the shoulders, only to shove him across the room. “We don’t fight our friends, and if alcohol makes you do that, I’m going to have to cut you off.”

“That bastard isn’t my friend.” Peter spat, puffing out his chest and flinging his arms out in a ‘come at me bro’ pose.

“Quill, hey buddy, hey Quill, come watch me make this stuffed rabbit fly.” Stephen slurred, clearly trying to diffuse the situation.

“Mr. Carrots!” Parker wailed, running over to grab the toy that had floated off of his bed. “You jerk he’s afraid of heights!”

“Wizard, while you’re at your magic, could you abra cadabra my brother and make him disappear?” Loki cackled.

“I’m not a fucking wizard.” Strange growled, “and how about I make your attitude disappear?” He pointed a finger at the god and furrowed his eyebrows menacingly before the threat was ruined by a small hiccup.

“Okay, I think you’ve all had plenty, everyone’s getting cut off.” You sighed, extending your hands to keep anyone from punching anyone else. “I see now why I’m stuck here, it’s cause children like you can’t mind their P’s and fucking Q’s so everyone’s afraid of you.”

At that, Tony clapped his hands over his mouth, “(Y/N) did a swear!”

“I can mind my peas! I eat them all,” Quill paused to hiccup, “The time. Not sure what a Q is though.”

“Gosh Petey Pie you’re wasted!” Tony laughed, tripping over himself as he did so.

“I swear Tony if another word comes out of your mouth I’m going to turn your pretty face into air.” You threatened, entirely annoyed by his behavior.

“You can do that?” His eyes widened as his hands moved to his chest, “Wait, did you call my face pretty?” He stepped closer to you leaning in to whisper, “I can assure you, the rest of me is pretty too.”

“Now who needs to keep it in their trousers, friend Anthony.” Thor laughed, looking to Stephen so see if he’d said the joke correctly. Stephen nodded, much to his delight.

“Way to ruin the moment Hercules, and it’s just Tony to you.” He groaned, winking before stepping away and picking up a nearly empty bottle. “Some of the people here are not nearly sloshed enough, I think it’s time for a game.” He grinned and turned around. “But first, drink up, I assure you it’ll be way more fun if you’re equally boozed up.”

“Anthony,” You grinned as his face paled, he clearly found that name slightly uncomfortable. “It appears that you’ve forgotten that we all have class tomorrow, the first day of sed class in fact. And you know what would suck?” You walked up so close you could feel his stiff breath hitting your cheeks. “If your bad influence got us all in trouble.”

He gulped. “Okay, noted, counter offer then, we don’t drink anymore cause I guess everyone has had enough... but we still play the game.” His nerves has fizzled out and the over confident facade that you’d seen when you first met him was back.

“And what game is that?” T’Challa asked, one eyebrow raised for effect.

“Spin the bottle!”

His proposition was met by a chorus of responses ranging from eww and gross, to no??? And why are you the way that you are?

“That’s a game for teenagers.”

“But are we not mostly teenagers?” He quickly responded.

“You just want an excuse to snog the girl.” Loki snickered.

“Wait let’s hear him out, what exactly is this teenage game that you’re speaking of? I never had many opportunities to play games as a teenager.” Thor interjected, sounding somewhat hopeful.

“See, the beefcake is on board!” Tony chugged the last bit of the bottle and set it down in the middle of the floor.

“Beefcake?” Bruce narrowed his gaze at Tony and sat down next to him. “You’re gross, why are we friends?”

“Its all in good fun Brucie Bear!” He hiccuped.

“Brucie Bear? That’s a new one.” Bruce murmured quietly.

“Wait, but I don’t want to kiss any of you guys... that’s gross.” Parker stuttered.

“Sure you don’t.” Quill groaned, rolling his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Parker hissed back.

“C’mon, we’ve all got a thing for (Y/N), you included.”

Parker blushed crimson red.

“Woah woah woah, let’s not go assuming things that aren’t there.” Stephen laughed, patting Quill on the shoulder. “You can’t speak for others, only yourself.”

“Well yeah but Parker’s face is kinda speaking for him right now so...” Quill shrugged and sat down.

A knock at the door pulled you all from your conversation and Parker, happy to redirect everyone’s attention, leapt across the room and pulled it open.

“Pizza delivery.”

“Hell yeah!” Tony swooped in and pulled the boxes from the man’s hands while also dropping the money into them.

“Sure you don’t want to divide the bill up Tony?” Bruce asked politely.

“Nah, I’ve got a rich daddy, the least I can do is spend his money on good people.” He set the boxes on the floor next to the empty bottle and gave it playful spin.

“Listen bitches, if you want pizza, you’re playing. Rules are you spin and you’ve gotta kiss whoever it lands on. If you want to opt out of the kiss you can, but you’ve got to forfeit a slice. Everyone only has 2 pieces so pick your kisses wisely. We spin 10 times. You ready?”

The room was silent, no one knowing how to respond.

Parker was the first to break the silence. “Yeah okay, fine.” He sat down, staring nervously at the bottle.

One by one, everyone took a seat until you were the last standing.

“(Y/N), you in?”

You took a long, deep breath before finally nodding. “I’m not nearly drunk enough for this.” And with that, you took a seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey! Quick question, who would you most like to kissssss? Heh heh.
> 
>  
> 
> Let me know in the comments, also if you enjoyed the chapter, lemme know by dropping a comment or a kudos :) they seriously make me so happy to see and read!
> 
> Also! I’m in Egypt right now so if uploads are delayed, blame my WiFi.
> 
> Have a lovely day,  
> Xx Ace


	6. Game Studies I - Spin The Bottle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to play, who shall kiss whom though?? And will it end well?

“Alright lady and gents, youngest goes first.” Tony announced, pulling a piece of pizza from the box.

“Hey!” Quill shouted pointing to the pizza slice, “If you eat that you lose one of your free passes.”

“Please you think I need them? Unlike all of you dickrags, I’m not afraid to kiss a dude.”

“A what rag?” Thor murmured.

“Well clearly Tony and Quill aren’t the youngest. Anyone else older than 18?” Bruce asked.

Thor and Loki both slowly raised their hands.

“Really? How old are you guys?”

Loki shook his head, “You don’t want to know.”

“I’m 19, almost 20.” Strange supplied, “I didn’t really have the super human classification until a few months ago.”

No one else claimed an older age so it came down to birth date. You realized pretty quickly that Peter Parker was the baby of the group by just a few months.

“Is it too late to back out?” He swallowed heavily.

“If you don’t want pizza, sure.” Tony laughed.

“But I’m hungry and I’m too buzzed to go get food...” Peter whined, wiping his hands over his face in annoyance.

“Trust me spider boy, you’re more than buzzed.” Loki snickered, patting Peter on the shoulder.

“I’m not a boy, I’m 18, a man darn it!” He growled, spinning the bottle with a huff.

“If you’re a man say fuck.” Quill antagonized playfully.

“Shut up.” He pouted as it slowed to a stop pointing at himself. “Umm... what does that mean?”

“Looks like the little man isn’t getting his first kiss just yet,” Tony teased. “Person to your left goes next then, Quill?”

“Hell yeah!” Quill reached over and gave the bottle a quick twist.

“I’ve kissed a girl before I’ll have you know.” Peter defended.

“Leave the small one alone gentlemen.” Thor commanded. He was trying to help, but it clearly just made Peter more frustrated.

The bottle spun in slow hollow circles that echoed throughout the room, and eventually, stopped as the tip pointed right at you.

“Oh,” Quill glanced up at you, his eyes slightly glossy. 

He wasn’t the only one looking at you though, in fact everyone was, no one able to speak as the tension made the room feel small enough to fit in a doll house.

Tony was the only one brave enough to break the silence, “Kiss or give up a piece, your choice.” 

“I don’t know about you Quill, but I’m hungry and I don’t plan on giving up either slice.” You smiled, settling your nerves.

“Uh, yeah...right.” He stumbled over his words as he pulled himself up on all fours and crawled in your direction.

Beneath the scruff, his skin had blushed a bright rosy pink. The man who was usually a parade of bad jokes and goofy faces had been reduced to silence and a nervous shaking that vibrated through his hand and into yours as you touched it.

“You okay Peter?” You whispered, slightly concerned by his drastic change in demeanor. 

He licked his lip and swallowed. “Mm hmm, you want to just um, get it over with?”

Your eyes went wide, “Get it over with?” You laughed.

“That’s uh, not what I meant!” He stammered and you honestly couldn’t handle this sad version of him any longer. It wasn’t a big deal, just a kiss. 

So you leaned in, gripping his hand to still the shaking as you pressed your lips against his. Long eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, as he inhaled quickly in surprise and leaned in just the smallest bit. It was barely noticeable, but his warm, slightly cracked lips had flattened ever so slightly against yours.

Kissing Peter Quill was like listening to your favorite song for the first time again. It was unwritten music, that you somehow knew the tune to. It sent chills through your body and raised goosebumps on your arms and legs just like the chorus of a killer anthem, and made your bones twitch as if begging to feel, move, dance, towards the feeling that the music gave you. More, again, it was a feeling you wanted to set on loop and fall asleep to.

And yet here you found yourself, surrounded by the whoops and cheers of your peers and you had to pull yourself out of the song. He was somehow now pinker than before, his fuzzy jaw falling slightly slack, and his eyes glazed over with something, you couldn’t quite pin point.

Shaking himself free from the moment, he crawled back to his seat, and as he did, you couldn’t help but stare. You wanted to feel the music again.

“Wowee, only one kiss in, and the room is already at least 20 degrees hotter.” Tony laughed, pretending to fan himself. “Alright (Y/N), as the kissee to the kisser, you’re next.”

“What? But I just kissed someone, shouldn’t I get a break?” You stammered.

“I don’t write the rules, that’s just the way it is.” He shrugged.

“But you do make the-“ Bruce began but was cut off by Tony’s finger pressed up to his mouth.

“No no Brucie, let it be. Spin (Y/N).”

You sighed and gave the bottle a good twist. As it spun, you could feel the room spinning with it. If it landed on Quill, could you kiss him again? 

No such luck, it slowed to a stop pointing at Stephen. Your heart fluttered just a bit glancing between Quill and Stephen. What was happening? You had to remember, this was just a fun game to enjoy with your intoxicated friends. In the morning you would all laugh about how funny and awkward it had been. 

For now though, Stephen had moved over to you and cleared his throat. Noticing the distraction in your eyes he tapped your knee to bring you back into focus. “You said you didn’t want to lose a slice and neither do I so, shall we?”

You nodded weakly, head still in the clouds... and then suddenly, it wasn’t. Your whole body was. You were weightless, feeling nothing but the lips pressed to yours. Stephen was much more sure of himself than Quill was. He didn’t exactly seem experienced, but the kiss didn’t seem foreign to him either. You felt a hand on the back of your head and honestly, you wouldn’t mind if  
it stayed. 

Kissing Stephen Strange was incomparable to anything that you’d ever felt before. It felt foreign, an essence of something you could only describe as magic flowing through him, and flooding your body to keep you suspended and breathless. The feeling was addictive, like a drug without the fear of side effects. It was warm, coursing through every cell and lighting them up from the inside. It was at its core, truly magical. The most cliche of descriptors and yet it was the only word that could possibly describe it.

When you opened your eyes to the cheers of your friends, your heart dropped. Stephen was ghostly, nearly transparent, and so were you. But ever more terrifying was the fact that you could see yourself below you, kissing Stephen. You panicked, scrambling to make sense of the situation. You were dreaming, that must be it. This was all just a really weird almost wet dream and if you could just wake up.

But you couldn’t, and suddenly you were falling, and screaming. You were being sucked back into your body, your weightlessness gone as you hit a solid wall and the room lit up with color. It was like a punch to the stomach by a boxer, your lungs completely devoid of air from the blow.

“(Y/N), can you hear me? You need to breathe. It’s okay.”

It was Stephen, your ears were ringing but you could still hear him through the noise. The noise, where was it coming from? It sounded like a girl screaming... you were the girl screaming.

You were pulled into a hug, someone’s... Stephen’s? Arms wrapping around you and squeezed as tightly as he could. The screaming... your screaming, stopped, and your ears cleared. The hug was grounding, suddenly you could feel your fingertips and hear every worried question that your friends were throwing at you. You could see their faces through tears and smell the cheese and basil scents wafting from the pizza box. You were back.

“Breathe for me (Y/N), in, and out with me, feel my lungs expand and collapse, and do it with me. You’re back in your body, you’re fine.” Stephen whispered a string of reassuring instructions into your hair and gently rubbed your back.

You spluttered our a wet cough and inhaled as deeply as you could. “What, um, what happened?” You tried your best to blink away the tear drops, watching them fall onto Stephen’s navy blue hoodie.

“I think I accidentally pushed your astral body out.”

“Oh okay.” You nodded blankly before it hit you. “Wait, you did what?” Jerking out of his grasp, you were met with the most apologetic eyes you’d ever seen.

“It’s very difficult to explain without giving you a full run down on all of the intricacies of sorcery.” He admitted, rubbing his hands roughly up and down the back of his neck. “I’ve mostly mastered how to project myself into the astral plane, and so I’ve been working on how to do it with others but I haven’t exactly figured out what triggers it yet.”

“Astral plane?” You heard Bruce ask from beside you. Everyone was crowded around, the same worried expression on every face.

“Like I said, I don’t know how to explain it, it’s all in my books. I’m really, truly, terribly, sorry (Y/N).” The apology was said far more quietly. He had clearly scared himself too. 

“It’s okay, we’re all here because we haven’t mastered our... abilities.” You murmured, resting your head back on his shoulder again. You couldn’t help but enjoy the natural grounded sensation that came with the contact.

“As much as I hate to end the game early, I think we could all use some pizza and some sleep.” Tony announced, and everyone agreed.

Parker was the first to hand you a slice, his eyes shouting the emotions that he was holding in. “You alright (Y/N)?”

“Yeah.” You nodded, gratefully accepting the pizza before leaning back into Strange almost subconsciously.

“Oh,” he gasped, looking down at you in surprise. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” You inhaled the expensive cologne from his hoodie. “I still feel a little weightless though, and something about you seems to get rid of that feeling.” 

He chuckled, eyes smiling in understanding. “I got it, lean away.”

And so you did, and enjoyed the pizza, and the company of good friends. You also pushed the memories of kissing them deep deep into the back of your brain...for now. It appeared that everyone was happy to move on from the game without another word, and you were more than thankful for that.

“Hey,” Stephen mumbled as the others talked amongst themselves. “If you ever find yourself afraid of what happened, or just curious, I can explain it better sometime... y’know, if that would help.” 

Glancing up at him, you caught his soft blue eyes and smiled. “Thanks, I think it might.”

He wrapped his arm around your back and placed a hand on your arm, squeezing slightly. “Ok.”

Indeed, ok you were, and decidedly would always be, with these people by your side.

***

The hours passed and soon it was midnight. With the scare from earlier fading into the past, you’d all enjoyed yourselves. After your long day though, you couldn’t quite help the droop that seemed to come over your eyes. 

“Hey, I think (Y/N)’s asleep.” You heard Stephen say from beside you.

“Hmm? No I’m a-“ You were betrayed by a yawn from your own mouth, “awake, I’m awake.”

“I’d say it’s a good time to sleep, see you all in class tomorrow?” Tony suggested and everyone agreed, sleepily saying good bye as one by one, everyone went their separate ways.

Stephen lifted you to your feet and bent over a bit. “Hop on.”

“Hmm?” You asked, not quite understanding.

“On my back, I’m not letting you walk to your dorm in this state.” He smiled but could see you still weren’t convinced. “Come on, what are desk mates for?”

“Studying I think.” You laughed sleepily.

“Yes, and for giving you piggy back rides to your dorm when you’re sleepy and have had too much to drink.”

You nodded and climbed onto his back, “Fair enough.” You dismissed your initial hesitance as you wrapped your legs around his waist and let your chin fall onto his shoulder.

“See you back at the room in a few Thor.” Stephen called as the two parted ways.

As soon as your were outside, and out of earshot from the others, you couldn’t help the, “You smell good... like a cherry pop tart.” That came out of your mouth.

He chucked, “I can’t say I know where you’re getting that from, but I’m glad you like it.”

The rest of the way to your dorm, you both fell into a content silence. Occasionally you would give a direction, and he would nod as you scooted up a bit on his back and pressed your nose into his shoulder.

When you finally reached your door, you found that you didn’t quite want to get down. 

“It’s cold in Washington.” You mumbled as you climbed off regardless.

“Oh, are you cold? Do you want this?” He tugged his hoodie off, the shirt underneath riding up slightly to reveal a...wow... very toned stomach. You swallowed heavily.

“It’s okay, I’m... I’m...” You were too tired to think rationally, so you couldn’t really help the elevator eyes that you gave him.

“Listen, I’m from New York, this weather is nothing for me, take it.” He smiled. Either he hadn’t noticed the involuntary look you’d given him, or he’d chosen to ignore it.

Carefully, and with a nod, you grabbed the hoodie and slipped it on over your head. Mmmm warm. As you looked back up at him, you could swear that you saw his pupils dilate and if that wasn’t enough of a sign you didn’t know what was.

You kissed him again and the weightlessness from the first time was there, but it was different. You could feel the magic flowing through to you, but it was a much smaller high than the last time, like he was holding back. You opened you eyes slightly and you were still in your body, but Stephen was tense, his fists clenching and unclenching. You pulled back.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, stepping back a bit to find the doorknob.

“Oh no I wasn’t, I didn’t mean... I just didn’t want to send you into the astral plan again.”

“Oh.” You smiled softly. “That makes sense.” 

There was a beat of silence before you leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. It was warm like his hoodie.

“Goodnight Stephen Strange.” 

“Goodnight (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

And with that, you twisted the door handle and went into your room.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes and slouching to the ground once the door was shut.

“You totally just kissed someone out there didn’t you?”

The voice startled you and you jumped your feet, extending your hands as a threat to anyone that could be in here. After scanning the room though, you realized that the intruder was a girl your age, with flaming red hair.

“I, um, no.” You coughed awkwardly.

“And you’ve been drinking, tell me, who was it? Was he cute? Or she, I don’t judge.” The girl winked and slid off of the empty bed. All of the stuff that your friends had helped you unpack today was still in the same place as when you’d left, and the empty half of the room had been filled with boxes and a few unpacked things.

“Umm, yes, and he is actually none of your business... are you my roommate?”

“Ah so it is a boy!” She grinned and held out her hand, “I’m Natasha, you can call me Nat too though, whatever’s easiest, and if this is your room then I’m your mate...that didn’t come for right.”

You shook her extended hand, still trying to process it all.

“How did you know?” You asked, looking over at the few decorations that she had put up with a smile, she had good taste.

“Hey, we all have something that makes us special here, I’m just especially observant.” She shrugged.

“Got it.” 

“Which means by the way if you don’t tell me, I’ll figure it out tomorrow in class.” She grinned and climbed back onto her bed.

“Well you can feel free to guess and I’ll let you know if you get it right.” You laughed, “I’m (Y/N), by the way.”

“Nice to meet you (Y/N),” she leaned back onto her bed, “I think we’re gonna get along just fine you and I.”

Kicking off your shoes, you climbed into your own bed and pulled up the covers. “I agree.” Strange’s sweatshirt was still warm...and the scent was sinking deep into your brain.

“Well I’m sure you’re tired after your long night of partying and kissing boys, so I’ll let you get to bed.” She laughed.

You managed to get out a “Thanks,” before your eyelids fell, and you found yourself sinking into the warm bed, and the unfortunately appealing scent of Stephen Strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowee another chapter already? I’m gonna pat myself on the back xD 
> 
> Thank you all for the lovely comments, they really make my day! As always, I love hearing what you think of the chapters whether it’s by comment or kudos, so thank you for all the love you’ve shown my little story :)
> 
> Have a lovely day,  
> Xx Ace


	7. Intro to Artifacts and Alcohol Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of classes, who’s the next professor? And is something going on here that’s a bit bigger than you initially thought? Maybe so...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was delayed, but it’s twice as long as normal so I hope you enjoy :)

You were awoken by an alarm blaring at full volume and causing your ears to ring. You definitely hadn’t set that.

“What time is?” You croaked out.

“6 am. We’ve only got 2 and a half hours til class so if we want to get in a workout before hand we’ve gotta get moving.” Nat grinned, climbing out of her bed and opening up one of the boxes.

“Workout? At 6 am?” You almost snorted, apparently she was a morning person. Likewise, your head was throbbing in a plea for you to go back to sleep.

“Of course! Though I understand your hesitancy, you have an actual power right?”

Groggily, you cocked your head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“People with actual powers tend not to focus on perfecting their physical abilities cause they think they don’t need to.” She didn’t sound annoyed or anything, but you had to admit that the truth stung a little bit. “So what’s your power?” She asked.

“Oh, um, atomic transmutation. I can change the molecular structure of things that I touch.” You wiggled your fingers for effect.

“Holy shit that’s cool! So you could like, make infinite money then?”

You managed a pained grin, that was usually one of the first questions you got. “No not really. It’s more like, I pick one element like, um, aluminum, and I can change any aluminum connected to what I’m touching into, say, oxygen.”

“Ah, makes sense why you don’t train much then. With something as useful as that, I probably wouldn’t either. You probably still should though, magic fingers will only get you so far in life, and we’ve got to be prepared for anything!”

“Yeah...” you scratched at the back of your head. “So can I go back to sleep?” Something told you that this feeling was what the world referred to as a hangover.

“Sure, as long as you promise to come to the gym with me tonight.” She smiled hopefully, though you had a feeling that no wasn’t really an option.

“You go to the gym more than once a day?” This girl was hardcore.

“Keen observation skills only get you so far.” Enjoy your sleep, see ya in class.” She gave a playful salute, grabbed a gym bag from the floor, and was off.

***

It didn’t take long for you to fall back asleep, and when your own alarm went off, you were just as annoyed as you had been when Natasha’s went off earlier.

Unfortunately, you had class today, this was exactly what you’d warned Tony would happen. Hopefully the others doing better.

Rolling out of bed, you did a quick sniff check on your pits and... ohh... you were still wearing Stephen’s hoodie. 

Bits of last night leapt around in your head. Lips, soft and harmonious with yours, hands, keeping you weightless and out of breath. Oh no.

The past was what it was, for now, all you could do was show up for class and hope that the group dynamic hadn’t changed much.

You looked in the mirror and blew a stray piece of hair off of your eyes. You’d slept in your jeans too, but unable to be bothered with changing, you brushed out the mess that was your hair and headed out the door.

Today’s class was on equipment and artifacts, and an email had been sent out instructing everyone to bring in anything of either category that they had at their disposal. Your ability wasn’t really one that needed the assistance of equipment, but not wanting to come in empty handed, you dug out an interesting crown you’d picked up at a flea market a couple years back. Something about it just kinda drew you to it, and it had ended up going home with you only to find a home at the bottom of your sock drawer. It had a small purple gem embedded in the forehead, and although you weren’t completely sure what it actually did, you felt kinda stronger when you wore it.

Despite the pounding headache, walking through campus was an enjoyable experience. The breeze was soft enough to blow autumn leaves from the trees, and the sky bright blue. All of the paths were lined with well manicured flowers, and the buildings had a modern design with lots of floor to ceiling windows that shimmered in the sunlight.

“Hey!” You heard a voice shout as it’s owner ran up beside you. It was Matt, and he had a friend with him, who you recognized from the obstacle course.

“Hey masked man.” You grimaced at his volume and nodded towards the friend, “who’s this?”

“Woodrow Wilson, at your service.” The friend bowed in a goofy manner as he walked.

“Ignore him, his name is Wade,” Matt turned to his companion. “And there is no way that Wade is a shortened form of Woodrow, that’s stupid.”

“You’re stupid!” Wade spat back with a laugh, “We’re the poor unfortunate souls club, what with my ballsack skin and Matty’s useless eye holes. Statistics show that chicks dig broken guys.”

“Do they now?” You grinned, opening the door to your building and massaging your head lightly.

“Wade stop talking,” Matt sighed.

“No can do bro, my bang-o-meter is wigging our right now in the presence of this lovely lady. So naturally, I must woo her with my winning smile and old man skin.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little. His humor was raunchy, but it was already clear that he was more the harmless idiot type than anything else.

“Being completely honest here, you flinch a lot.” Wade commented, “So either, you got absolutely shit faced on the first day of classes and are now suffering from a mad hangover, or you’ve got a traumatic past that earns you a place in the unfortunate souls club.” 

“The answer you’re looking for is the first one.” You sighed.

“Fuck that’s cool, I’m offended that I wasn’t invited, but I can forgive you if you’ll promise to invite me next time.”

“Actually I’m not normally that into pa-“ 

“(Y/N)!” Bruce ran up to you with a grin on his face. 

Sluggishly covering your ears, you sent him a glare.

“You too? Man you guys are gonna hate today.” He laughed.

“We’ll talk to you later (Y/N), see you in class.” Matt waved to you and walked into the classroom with Wade in tow.

“Who were those guys and... is that Stephen’s hoodie?” Bruce waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yes, but it’s not, it’s not of any importance.”

“Oh, so you didn’t kiss the wizard last night after he bravely carried you home in your hour of need, and then proceeded to shiver adorably to get him to give you his hoodie?”

Your face paled. “I wasn’t trying to get him to give me his hoodie, he just offered it up.”

“So you don’t deny kissing him again then?”

In that moment, you felt very small, “no.” You murmured as Bruce opened the door to the classroom for you and the two of you stepped inside.

“You like him don’t you?”

“Why don’t you shut up ‘Brucie Bear’.” You mocked, making air quotations with your fingers.

“Ouch, that hurt so much.” He laughed sarcastically.

The classroom was already split into 3 rough groups. Your group was on the left wall. Matt and Wade’s group, which apparently included Nat, was in the center, and a third group which you hadn’t really met anyone from yet, had taken up the right side of the room.

As soon as you stepped towards your group, you made eye contact with Strange. His striking blue eyes looked you up and down as a pink blush spread over his nose and across his cheeks.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is the Lady (Y/N) sporting a piece from the Strange collection?” Tony grinned tugging you over. “I was just about to show everyone this super cool tech that I made for the group.”

“He was up all night working on it.” Bruce sighed.

“Tony please be quieter,” Parker groaned, running his hands through his hair. 

“How are you not hungover?” Quill added with a groan. As he looked up at you though, he still managed to give you that signature dopey smile. That’s right... you’d kissed Quill too, and if memory served, you’d thoroughly enjoyed it.

“The great Tony Awesome does not get hungover,” Tony laughed.

“That’s not your last name.” Bruce snickered, “Though come to think of it, I don’t actually know your last name.”

“And you don’t want to.” Tony interjected, “Now back to my super cool tech-“

“Yeah, why do we know everyone’s last name but yours?” You asked, curiosity overcoming you.

“Because my last name is associated with my dick bag of an old man.”

“Which is?” T’Challa pried.

Tony sighed in frustration. “Howard fucking Stark, which makes my last name Stark, but there’s nothing to talk about in regards to him so don’t bother asking. Can I please just show you my-?”

“Someone has daddy issues.” Strange laughed.

“Yeah, what about them?” Tony growled and Stephen backed down without hesitation. 

Popping his neck in annoyance, Tony turned away from the group and began to put the silver case back in his bag. “Guess you guys don’t get to see what I made for us.”

“Settle down Tony, there’s no reason to be this heated right now.” Bruce cooed, placing a soft hand on the other’s shoulder.

Tony sighed, “I’ll show you guys when the professor has us show the stuff we brought, the least I can do is make you d-hays wait for being so pushy.” He smirked, having already bounced back to his normal demeanor. The fluidity of his moods continued to baffle you.

“Good morning punks.” You heard a man laugh as he passed through the center aisle of the room. His grungy brown hair was slicked straight, and his walk pattern was that of insane confidence. Though, as he removed his sunglasses, his eyes didn’t seem to match the vibe that the rest of him was giving off. He looked tired, and maybe a bit antsy.

“My name is Professor Barnes but I guess you can call me Bucky, I don’t really care. Main point is that I’m gonna be teaching you kids about artifacts and equipment this semester, how they’re useful, and how they can match your abilities to make you stronger.” He pulled off one of the leather gloves he was wearing to reveal a metallic hand, and suddenly he had everyone’s confused attention. 

“Before I can do any of that, we need to get two orders of business out of the way. First, why the hell am I teaching this?” His eyes suddenly went wide and he covered his mouth. “Am I allowed to swear in front of you guys?” He mumbled through parted fingers. “Steve, err, Professor Rogers told me to-“

“We won’t say a fuckin word if you won’t.” Wade piped up, shooting the Prof a comedic wink.

“Oh, okay then.” Bucky laughed, sitting down on the edge of his desk. The room felt far more relaxed as a common understanding was met. “So, I don’t know everything there is to know about all the different ways your abilities can be enhanced through items, but I know what it feels like to rely on one.” He explained, stripping off his leather jacket to leave himself in a plain white t-shirt. The arm that hosted the metallic hand was revealed and everyone gasped as they saw the full metal appendage that the man sported. “Alright, I think that point is clear so on to our other order of business.” Hopping off of his desk, he strolled over to the table where your group sat. 

Stephen, who had his feet resting on an archaic looking chest, seemed almost intimidated as the Professor leaned over and brushed a layer of dirt off of his grandiose footstool.

“Mr. Strange, could please move your curious chest up to the table?” Bucky asked, and Stephen quickly hoisted it up with a reverberating thud. “Before we can look into getting you guys some new gear, we need to know what you’re already working with, which is why I asked you to bring it in today. Mr. Strange, you have my interest, would you care to go first?”

“Oh, um, sure.” Stephen stuttered, caught off guard. Glancing your way, you could see a small amount of confidence swell back into him as he popped open the trunk. Immediately, a flowing red cloak shot from the trunk and wrapped itself tightly around Stephen. “Okay okay, that’s enough.” He croaked and the cloak loosened it’s grip, settling comfortably around Stephen’s neck and draping down to the floor.

The room seemed awestruck, no one having expected something like that right out of the gate.

“This is the Cloak of Levitation, it kinda has a personality of its own and I think it likes me. I’m not sure, I found it in New York and it hasn’t left me alone since.” Stephen shrugged before plunging back into the box and digging around. “Hold on I have a lot so-“ 

“Maybe just pick one more thing to show for today so we can get through everyone.” Bucky laughed, hopping up and sitting on the table between you and Tony. The toes of his boot clad feet just barely grazed the floor and you couldn’t help but be confused by the stark contrast between his personality and his demeanor. 

“Okay, well um,” Stephen fished around a moment more before pulling out a long golden chain with a bright green orb at the end. It was enclosed in a brassy gold, eye shaped cage that glimmered in the light. “This is the Eye of Agamotto, it can kinda turn back time, but the only time I’ve done that, I almost broke something so my... higher ups... informed me that it’s only to be used in case of emergency.”

Bucky seemed a bit surprised, looking over the eye with a level of suspicion on his face. “You’ve got some unique treasures in there, specifically the eye.” He paused like he wanted to say something else, but was holding back. “ Just... keep em safe.” Bucky turned to look around the room, seemingly deciding his next target.

“That’s cool that they still let you keep it,” You whispered to Stephen.

“Oh no, they don’t actually know that I still have this thing.” Stephen laughed lightly, as he put the necklace away and turned his attention to the cloak. “Are you going in too, or am I gonna have to wrestle you in later?” He asked, and it remained motionless. “Fine, be that way, but I’m gonna find an even smaller storage bin for you if you don’t watch your attitude.”

You laughed at the interaction and redirected your attention to the professor who was eyeing up Tony’s platinum case. 

“Mr...,” Bucky flipped through the pages of his clipboard. “Stark, any relation to the inventor?”

“Son,” Tony growled, popping open the case.

“Lucky you, you know your dad was the brain behind Professor Roger’s iconic shield.” 

“Oh trust me, he won’t let me forget.” Tony pulled out a pair of fingerless leather gloves with what looked like flashlight heads on the palms. “Wanna see what I made or what?”

Bucky seemed taken aback by the attitude, his hard expression softening in realization. “Mr. Stark, I do believe that did I ask you to bring in your equipment, so yes, I would.”

At this, Tony loosened his tight shoulders and took a deep breath. It was like a stress switch was flipped in his brain every time someone talked about his dad. 

“I’ve been working on mobilizing the human body, specifically mine, to allow for easy and safe flight without the need of a vehicle. This is what I’ve got so far.“ The booster on his left hand switched on, causing his arm to be propelled up above his head before switching off.

“Very impressive, and extremely practical.” Bucky grinned.

“Yeah,” Tony went red from the praise. “I’ve also got these, which I just made last night so I haven’t had the chance to test them much yet but,” He pulled seven small black capsules from the case and set them on the table. “They’ll allow me and my teammates to speak with each other over long distances for improved communication. It’s not exactly groundbreaking technology, but then again, neither is a shield.” 

“Ooh burn.” Quill snickered quietly.

Oblivious to the remark, Tony smirked proudly and pressed down on the top of a capsule. The two ends popped off into a pair of ear pieces and the rest of the container unfolded into a watch which he slapped onto his wrist. “The watch also monitors it’s wearer’s heart rate and notifies anyone else wearing connected headsets if their teammate’s BPM spikes too high,” Tony glanced over at Bruce with a smile, “or drops too low. Finally, it has all of the features of any fitness watch on the market to maximize the effects of time spent training.” Tony tossed one of the capsules to you with a wink and turned to the class. “That’s all the toys that I brought this time.” And with a winning grin, he sat back down.

“Are these seriously for us to use?” Parker asked, shocked as he looked at the capsule you were turning over in your hands.

“Of course, how else are you guys supposed to hear my awesome jokes while I’m shooting down baddies from the sky?” He laughed and tossed capsules to Peter and everyone else. “Just try not to lose them okay?” 

“Well, that was a strong start to the class from you two,” Bucky laughed, patting the table before hopping down and walking back up to the front. “Anyone else from this table want to keep the train rolling or shall we hear from another group?” 

“I’d like to show what I’ve brought.” A girl with a mild accent and long black hair spoke up.

“Great, Miss...,” Bucky trailed off again as he flipped through his photos.

“Just Diana,” she prompted, pulling a long shimmering rope from her bag and splaying it across the table.

The more she talked, the more interested in her you became, and by the end of her short presentation, you’d made a note to talk to her later.

One by one, the rest of the class showed the items that they’d brought with them. Matt showed off his ‘sticks,’ T’Challa, the claws that he’d used on the obstacle course, and the Black Panther suit that his sister had created for him. Peter Quill swung around a pair of ‘space guns’, and Parker knit an elastic peace sign from his web shooters while Nat displayed her impressive pocket arsenal of guns and grappling hooks. Before you knew it, Bucky was calling on you to show something off.

“Well, I don’t normally depend on equipment, but I do have something that I’ve messed around with in the past.” You pulled the golden crown from your bag and placed it on you head. “From what I can tell, it makes my abilities stronger. I can transmute more elements than usual, it happens faster, it doesn’t drain my stamina as much, stuff like that.” You explained.

“Interesting,” Bucky murmured, walking up closer to examine the crown. “Where did you discover this special artifact Miss (Y/L/N)?”

“At a flea market, I was kinda drawn to it I guess.” You shrugged.

Bucky’s gaze drifted between you and Strange, an unreadable expression on his face. “Um,” he looked around the room of attentive students. “I would suggest you keep that crown quite safe, and perhaps do a bit of research on it. Same for you Mr. Strange, I’m not usually one for leisurely reading, but the two of you might find the University’s library has some valuable information.” He then cleared his throat and moments after, his serious expression was gone.

***

The rest of the class breezed by and before you knew it, day two of your first semester was over.

“Anyone feeling better yet?” Tony asked as your group left the classroom.

“Much.” You sighed with relief, happy that the headache had worn off.

“That class looks like it’s gonna be fun, useless, but fun.” Bruce smiled.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, leaning over to ruffle his friend’s hair?”

“Hey, stop,” Bruce ducked out of the assault and side stepped away. “I mean it’s gonna be useless like most of this school. We’re supposed to be here to reign in our abilities so we don’t hurt others so they say but, it feels more to me like we’re being trained to use them, not to suppress them.”

“Well, Fury did say that we could work for S.H.I.E.L.D afterwards if we wanted to.” Parker reminded.

“Yeah but, if working for him was really optional, you’d think they’d offer two tracks here. One for students who plan to join S.H.I.E.L.D and become heroes like Professor Rogers, and one for people who just want to get the government off of their back and just get back to being a normal person.” Bruce countered.

“That’s fair, but getting this license here is optional, you only have to get it if you want to be able to use your powers out in the world, so they’re probably assuming that anyone who signs up wants to become a hero.” Parker shot back, a little bit of fire in his voice.

“Some of us don’t have an actual ability to use, they just want to have their freedom back. That new law also enforces a crazy curfew on us and makes it near impossible to travel. I want to be a Doctor, not some spandex wearing superdouche, but I need to be able to board a fucking airplane if I want, so I’m postponing my degree so I can get my stupid license.” Bruce seemed angry, and weighing the situation well. Peter stepped back from the argument.

“Just do what I’m doing, I’m taking classes online to get my doctorate.” Strange suggested.

“You are?” You asked, looking Stephen over curiously.

“What? I’m not allowed to aspire to be more than a sorcerer? I was on track to be a neurosurgeon before my hands got shredded, I only wanted magic so that they would work again.”

You realized that you didn’t know these people nearly as well as you thought you did. It made sense, given that you’d just met them a day ago, but something about this group had you all feeling like you were already a family, so to realize that you didn’t really know why most of them were here took you aback.

“Why are you here (Y/N)?” Stephen continued with curiosity.

“I um, I’m not really sure. I got the letter and didn’t have any better plans so here I am. Being a hero might be fun, I dunno.”

“And if that’s the path you want to take, good for you, but this school shouldn’t be backing the rest of us into a proverbial corner.” Bruce sighed heavily, clearly trying to keep himself from getting worked up. “I’m gonna go take a nap, I’m not used to staying up as late as we did last night.” Bruce admitted, excusing himself and stalking off.

“Poor guy,” Quill mumbled.

“How about we all take some time to ourselves? I think we’ve all had a bit too much of each other.” T’Challa laughed and everyone agreed, heading their separate ways. 

You were on the way to your own dorm when a wide eyed Loki ran flat into you. He was panting, wrinkles worrying his usually smooth forehead. Clearly, he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

“Hide me!” He hissed, looking around in terror. 

“Oh, okay, where, why?” You stuttered as he grabbed you by the arm and tugged you along behind him. “And why are we running?” You panted, trying to keep up with his unnatural speed.

“Because he’s coming, I can’t let him find me!” Loki was trembling with fear, a stark contrast to the cocky apathy that he’d sported the night before.

“Who’s coming?” You asked as the two of ducked behind a bush.

He glanced around in fear, desperate to be sure of his safety before he spoke, he swallowed heavily, barely choking out the word...

 

“Thanos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then, it appears that we may be getting into a bit of plot! Don’t worry, still LOTS of fluff to be mixed in :)
> 
> Please excuse any discrepancies that you find, I’ve just now decided where I want this story to go.
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave me a kudos or a comment for this crazy long chapter xD 
> 
> Hope you have a lovely day,  
> Xx Ace


	8. Experimentation in Homo sapien Assemblage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay slow down Loki, what are you talking about? I need you to take deep breaths for me and explain carefully please.

Loki was practically trembling, the fear in his eyes leaking out through what he would never admit were tears.

“Who’s that, and why is he after you?” You asked in confusion.

“I wouldn’t expect a mortal like you to understand,” he huffed, “I’ve been looking for my brother all morning to tell him, but it appears he’s actually attending his stupid classes, and I’ve misplaced the schedule he gave me.”

“Maybe I can still help, let’s start with what you did to tick this Thanos guy off.”

“I didn’t do anything!” He paused, chewing his lip in thought. “Okay maybe I did, but it’s not my fault, the guy is crazy. He’s a rock jock, researching and hunting for these things called Infinity Stones forever and he roped me into getting one of them for him with my charm.” Loki flipped a strand of slick hair from his face and sighed. “Which his why my father and brother don’t trust me as far as they can throw me, which speaking from experience, is painfully far.”

“Okay so he expected you to get one of these Infinity Stones and you couldn’t and now he’s mad?” You asked.

“No, of course I got one,” he rolled his eyes at the very idea of him failing. “The miserable grape man is mad because I won’t give it to him.”

“Why won’t you give it to him? Is he not paying you enough or?”

“Please I’m basically a king, money is no object to me. Our deal was I get him a stone, he gets me an invite to the most exclusive club in the galaxy... however I did a little digging into what exactly I was retrieving and well...” Loki gulped, and peered out from behind the bush nervously before redirecting his attention to you. “Thanos is a violent man, I only keep him around because they say keep your enemies closer...” He started going on a tangent again, clearly trying to avoid the real issue.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me why you won’t give him the stone.” You reminded softly.

Loki slouched into the wall, “I’m not going to give it to him because I’m quite certain that he would use it to kill all of us, and I must say, I’ve never been faced with my own mortality before now, but I’m quite certain that I enjoy being alive.”

Your eyes went wide, “Did you try bringing this to Fury?”

“Pfft, you think I trust that trigger happy pirate?”

“No?... So what are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do? No no, we’re in this together now, and we are going to hide in your room. I doubt he knows of you.”

“Oh...okay.” You were slightly skeptical of the situation, but he wasn’t giving you any options as you were yanked up by your wrist and pulled out from behind the bush. 

Loki took you through alleys and passageways you didn’t know the school had. Underground, through shadows, anywhere that kept your presence hidden. Before you knew it, you were dashing up the stairs to your dorm and locking the door behind you.

“Okay,” you panted, winded from your dash across campus, “now what?”

He paced around the room, closing curtains, checking for cameras and hidden mics, and just generally being paranoid. Finally after he was satisfied that you weren’t being spied on, he sat down and rummaged through his pockets. Licking his lips in careful attention, he pulled out a blue stone and held it in his fingertips.

“Woah,” You whispered, extending a finger to feel the cool aura that radiated from it.

“Don’t touch!” Loki gasped, lifting the stone above his head and out of your reach. “If you were to touch this thing you would explode, or get sick or something. I can only touch it cause well,” he leaned in close and twirled a strand of your hair around his finger before tucking it behind your ear, “I’m a god.”

“Oh,” you gulped, scooting away just a bit. You didn’t want to take your chances with the gem, and truth be told, the man in front of you was intimidating in a way that you weren’t used to. “So what now?”

“We need to collect the rest of the stones before he can get his filthy fingers on them, but we can’t let them all stay in one place either, so as much as I hate to say this, we’ll have to expand our ranks.”

“There’s more than one?” You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“There are 6, all of which were last seen on earth which is why violet goliath is trying to get his license here at S.W.O.R.D., so he can collect them without any hassle.”

“Wait, this Thanos guy goes to S.W.O.R.D?” You hadn’t seen anyone purple walking around campus, but then again, it was a pretty big school.

“Yeah, he’s in his third year too, so after this year he’s free to devote all of his time to collecting, which is why we have to get to them first.”

“If he couldn’t find them in two years, how are we supposed to find them in one?”

Loki smirked the widest shit eating grin you’d ever seen, and held up the blue glowing stone in his hand. “Come on, it’s me. I find pretty shiny things in my sleep.”

You nodded, laughing at his confidence as someone knocked on the door.

“Hello?” It was Stephen.

“No no no no-“ Loki hissed as you opened the door. As soon as Stephen’s face came into view, Loki sat up straight as a board.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you had company.” Stephen stuttered, eyes locking with Loki’s as the two tried to read each other’s intentions.

“It wasn’t planned, Loki needed my help with something which actually,” your eyes lit up as you took Stephen by the hand, pulled him in, and shut the door.

Startled by the sudden touch, he tripped over his own feet and tumbled into his seat next to you. 

“How graceful,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“Watch your mouth or I’ll tell your brother that I caught you sneaking into the ladies dorms.” Stephen hissed.

Loki’s jaw dropped in mock offense, “Why did you have to let the wizard in?” He grumbled.

“Sorcerer,” Strange corrected.

“Both of you shut up, Loki, I think Stephen can help us. If anyone can find a magic stone on earth, it’s probably an earth magician.” 

“Sorcerer,” Stephen corrected again, though he was far gentler when we said it to you. His eyes narrowed as he realized what you’d said, “Magic stone?” You gripped Loki’s wrist, forcing him to show the stone.

“What did you call it? An Infinity Stone?” You asked.

Loki jerked his arm away and grumbled, “Yes, one of six that I’m racing against an evil old prune to collect.”

“Hold on, I was just looking into those.” Stephen murmured, lifting the flap to his messenger bag and digging around. “After class, Professor Barnes gave me a short list of books to look into in regards to the Eye and your crown (Y/N), and I was actually coming over here to see if you wanted to look over them with me.” He pulled out a thick leather bound book with a golden clasp.

“That’s one of the books I was reading earlier,” Loki gasped, ripping it from Stephen’s hands and flipping through it. “Why do you have this again?”

“Our Artifacts professor told me to look into it, said it had something to do with these things that (Y/N) and I presented in class today.”

“Do you have them with you?” Loki looked like a kid on Christmas.

“Mine’s back in my room.” Stephen explained.

“I have mine,” you grabbed your backpack from the floor and dug around until you found the crown. As soon as you’d pulled it out, Loki’s eyes widened and he snatched it from your hands to examine it.

“The Power Stone,” Loki gasped, turning it over in his hands. He looked up to you with a wickedly charming grin. “You just made our work a hell of a lot easier!” Joy and excitement radiated off of him as he gripped your shoulders and pulled you in. Elated lips crashed against yours in a short but meaningful touch.

Kissing Loki was perfectly imperfect. His lips were mischievous, his teeth primed to bite if he’d had just a moment more with you. It was something unexpected but welcomed, and though It was quick, it made you absolutely melt.

He pulled back just as quickly as he’d done it. It was a celebratory kiss that had lasted no more than a second, but that hadn’t stopped Stephen from sending Loki an absolutely venomous glare. 

Loki smiled a cocky little smile and patted Stephen on the cheek with the palm of his hand as he stood up. Something about Stephen’s demeanor shifted, but his face stayed the same.

“Friends, the Infinity Stone Alliance has begun, Strange, if your Eye is also an Infinity Stone then that puts our count at three, and there are three of us so we can each hold on to one. We have three more to find then and thus need three more members to spread the stones amongst, so think well on who you trust with your life.”

“You’re making this sound far more dangerous than it is.” Stephen rolled his eyes.

“Oh right, you weren’t here for the Thanos destroying life as we know it speech. That’s okay little wizard, I’ll fill you in later.” Loki grinned, knowing full well that he held all of the power right now.

“I don’t think I appreciate your condescending tone god of mischief.” Strange explained, acid dripping from his words.

“Don’t you?” Loki smiled sprawling out on your bed. 

Just then the door opened and Nat walked in. She stopped short to survey the room, before laughing loudly and shutting the door behind her. 

“Did you forget to leave a sock on the door?” She asked teasingly, throwing her backpack onto her bed and walking past Stephen to sit on her mattress.

“A sock?” Loki looked confused.

“She’s insinuating that we did it.” You rolled your eyes shoved Loki over so you could sit in your bed.

“No I know you didn’t do it with this asshole,” Nat pointed to Loki with a playful laugh. He didn’t really look offended, more charmed by her abrasive honesty. “But with magic cape boy, maybe. He’s the one you smooched outside the door last night right?”

“You kissed the wizard again? Strange you dog, do your friends know? I’m sure they’re all incredibly jealous.” Loki teased.

“How’d you figure it out?” You asked, a light coating of red splattering onto your face.

“Please, you’re so obvious, and speaking of obvious,” she reached out, gripping Loki’s wrist and squeezing tightly until his hand had been forced open and the stone was revealed, “Whatever you guys are scheming, I’m bored and I want in.”

You all exchanged glances, fully aware of the position you were in if you said no. Natasha fiddled with a tube of chapstick, patiently awaiting the answer that she’d already guaranteed herself.

“Okay.”

You filled her in on the details, smiling at how excited she was getting. 

“So how do we go about finding these other three stones then?” She asked thoughtfully.

“A little bit of research, and a lot of exploring places that we probably shouldn’t be.” Loki replied hesitantly.

“Places I shouldn’t be? You’re in luck because that just so happens to be my specialty.” Nat winked and so it was settled, the group had expanded to four.

***

After a bit more time spent strategizing, everyone was ready to head for their one beds when you realized that Loki couldn’t. This Thanos guy was still after him, and with how jumpy Loki was at even the mention of the name, you and Nat decided to let him sleep on the floor in your dorm.

Was it against the rules? Sure. Was Stephen a bit miffed? Absolutely, but it was for the best.

Stephen pulled you into the hall while Nat and Loki worked on setting up his bed.

“Living with Thor has lead me to believe that Loki is not to be entirely trusted... please be careful with that man.” Stephen murmured quietly. His voice was soft, concern filling every syllable.

You couldn’t help but laugh, “Will do chief.” You grinned. He didn’t seem comforted by your words though. “You’re jealous that Loki kissed me aren’t you?” You laughed.

“What? That’s absurd.” Strange countered indignantly, though his voice wavered. “Why would I be jealous? We’re friends who happened to kiss once and then you needed help getting home and we were both slightly out of our minds so we did it again. I have no reason to be jealous.”

The speed at which he’d just spewed all of that spoke louder than his words, so you weren’t convinced by any measure of the word.

“Okay,” You were a bit dumbfounded by his attitude.

“I’m going to bed. Have a nice night (Y/N).” He forced a smile and nodded his head politely as he turned away to leave.

“So then,” you called after him as he walked down the hall, “you wouldn’t be upset if I kissed him again?” You were joking really, but you were interested to see how he would respond.

Stephen continued down the hallway, “Kiss whoever you want (Y/N), I’m not your boyfriend.” He waved a hand dismissively and before you knew it, Strange was gone.

“That was totally weird right? It’s not just me?” Nat was peering her head out the door, Loki right behind her.

“Yeah, super weird.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, it’s been a time, I’m the worst, apologies. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter though, if you did, drop a comment or a kudos :) thanks lovelies
> 
> Xx Ace


	9. Advanced Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stranger things have happened than this.

“(Y/N),” The voice that spoke your name was passionate, and exhausted, as if your very presence was lighting them up, and draining them all at once.

“Stephen.” The name left your mouth with the comfort of one said a thousand times before.

Your back was pressed into the wall, you legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed himself closer, eliminating all possible space. 

Your hands fell on tight shoulders, dancing across heated skin, and bouncing back in surprise as Stephen nipped at the soft skin below your collar bone. 

His touch was electric, sending sparks of emotion into you. 

“Can I kiss you again?” His voice was soft, hesitant, but full of longing.

You nodded, and he jumped the moment permission was granted.

A wave of Energy surged into you, like you’d been plugged into a wind turbine. A brick of intense something hit your chest, and then suddenly, you were weightless again, floating.

The world shifted to a shallow blue as you fell out of your body, and into the next room. Landing on the floor, an immense amount of energy pushed into your lips. Your eyes darted open and Stephen was there. Not flesh and bones, but almost spectral, and he didn’t seem to care about his current form.

“Everything feels better in your astral body.” His voice hummed in your ear, soft and booming all at once.

“Oh?”

And then you felt it, hot breath, firmness, a guttural feeling of ecstatic belonging filling the space just beneath your ribcage, and then knocking.

Hard, impatient. Stephen growled in annoyance and pressed his lips back against yours. 

But the knock persisted and suddenly you were startled awake to the tap of knuckles against your door.

You were in your dorm, no Stephen in sight, it had been a dream.

It took you two seconds to survey the room and realize that you had a big problem on your hands. Nat’s bed was empty, but the make shift one on the floor was not.

“Shit. Loki, wake up,” you hissed, frantically, chucking your pillow at him, and leaping out of bed. “Wake up, wake up, wake up.” You squatted down beside him and gently slapped his cheeks back and forth but he remained asleep. Why did a god even need to sleep?

You decided to ask him about it later, but for now, you had a demigod sized problem and whoever was at the door probably wouldn’t appreciate seeing your problem camping out in the girls dorms.

Licking your lips thoughtfully, you searched for an answer, and as another knock rang out, it hit you.

Squatting down against Nat’s bed, you leaned into the frame and used your legs to roll Loki over himself and underneath your bed. Shoving his pillow and blankets in after him, you did one last scan of the room before gripping the door handle and pulling it open.

“Oh.” You sighed in relief.

“Expecting someone else?” The rather charming voice at your door belonged to the equally charming, Peter Quill, who was currently standing before you in a pair of plaid gray pajama pants, and a fluffy red robe that was clearly too small for him, as if even after being tied at the waist, it couldn’t be asked to cover his chest.

Something stirred in you that you pushed down for the moment, as Peter, who typically dwarfed you, leaned over at the waist until he stood eye to eye with you. 

“I want in.”

“What?” You searched your brain for what he might mean.

“I know you’re forming a secret space stone collecting society and I want in. After all, you’ll want someone with a bit of space knowledge if you’re gonna search for space stones.” He smiled brightly and stood up straight again.

You honestly didn’t know what to say, how had he found out already? Some secret group you guys were.

Peter glanced over you at your room and narrowed his gaze. “Who slept on your floor last night? Was it Stephen?” 

Again, you were at a loss for words, but Peter apparently took your silence as a yes as he swore under his breath.

“That dog,” He laughed softly. “He moves fast though, I’ll give him that, are you two a thing now?”

“What? Oh,” you were finally pulled from your thoughts enough to vocalize. “No, Strange and I are strictly platonic, and he didn’t sleep here last night.”

Not physically anyway, your dream was another story entirely.

“Mm hmm, I see.” Peter rubbed his chin methodically, but there was a wicked grin there that he was clearly trying to hide. “Strictly platonic friends who borrow each others hoodies and kiss a lot.”

“We kissed twice.” You sighed, rubbing at your temples. It was too early to be playing 20 questions with a super toddler. “What did you want again?”

“To join your secret club, duh!”

“And how exactly did you find out about it?” 

His face went so red, it started to camouflage with his barely there robe.

“I, oh, gee I don’t really know.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

“You can join the group if you tell me how you knew about it.”

At that, he stood straight as a board, an enormous grin spreading from ear to ear. 

“PP and I put a bug in Stephen and Thor’s room for a prank, so we heard the wizard talking about it.”

“PP? Is that what you’re calling Parker now?”

“Yes, now about this club, when is the next meeting?”

“We don’t have meetings planned really and-“ you paused to take another glance at his very exposed chest and stomach. “Could you maybe put a shirt on? Where did you even get that robe, you look like you’re gonna rip it in half if you extend your arm more than a few inches.” You laughed, but it was really nervous laughter more than anything else.

“It’s PP’s. All of my shirts are in the laundry.”

“How convenient.” You sighed.

“Convenient? You think I’m trying to woo you with my bulging muscles?” Quill popped one of his pecks for effect. 

“I think you’re taking advantage of the fact that you look very good without a shirt on is what I think you’re doing.”

“I look good without a shirt on?” Peter quirked an eyebrow, daring you to deny it.

Your face scrunched up into a knot as your brain scrambled for a witty response. “Pshh,” You avoided eye contact. “Yeah... whatever.”

This seemed to appease him as his smile widened even more and he flung an arm around your shoulder.

“It’s okay (Y/N), you can admire my pecks whenever you want.” The matter of fact tone that he’d said that in was borderline cocky asshole, but he somehow pulled it off.

“Go home Peter.” You sighed.

“But my lady,” he bowed and extended his hand, “Would you not like an escort to class?”

“What?... oh, class!” You panicked, turning on a dime and rushing back into your room. “What time is it?”

“Cool down, you’ve got 30 minutes before class starts, and this person who you enjoy lookin at shirtless can get you there in 5 minutes flat.”

“I never said that I enjoyed looking at you shirtless.” You responded, pulling clothes from drawers and pausing to do I quick sniff check on yourself. “I need to shower.”

“I can pack up your books if you want to go shower real quick.” Peter offered.

Your eyes lit up “Thanks Quill!” You glanced down at the blankets poking out from beneath your bed. “Also, Thor’s baby brother is asleep under my bed, try kicking him a few times to wake him up, I don’t want to leave him alone with my stuff.”

“Can do, go de-stink.” Quill grinned, stepping into your room and beginning to pick stuff up to put in your bag.

You paused briefly on your way out the door, “Are you wearing... that, to class?”

He rolled his eyes, “Of course not, PP’s on his way right now with my change of clothes which,” Peter looked at his phone, “should have just come out of the washer.”

“How did you manage to dirty all of your clothing that quick?” You asked before realizing that you didn’t have time for the answer, “Never mind I don’t need to know, I’ll meet you outside the dorms in 15 minutes okay? Don’t let Loki run off, I’m kinda protecting him right now.”

Quill giggled in the most childish manner, “You’re protecting a god? What from? Is his daddy god gonna ground him?”

You chose not to justify his joke with a laugh, instead scrambling off down the hallway towards the showers.

“Hey,” Peter shouted at your bed, but no movement was made. “Fine, have it your way,” Cocking his leg back as far as he could, Peter unleashed a crushing kick to the lump under your bed.

“Bloody fucking-!”

“Good morning to you too princess.” Quill laughed, “Come on, we’ve gotta get ready to go.”

***  
With an impressive amount of urgency, you, Loki, a now mostly dressed Quill, and Parker, sprinted across the campus to your class. 

As you approached the door to the building, your attention was drawn to Stephen, who was walking up to the building himself. His royal blue sweater billowed behind with each click of his black boots against the concrete. He sipped lightly from a coffee cup, a couple books tucked under his other arm. 

Your dream sprang to the front of your mind, forcing you to quickly cover up the borderline primitive noise that sprang automatically to the surface. It was as if it had been cut off when you woke up, and was just now being freed by the sight of the person who’d caused it.

Despite the noise, you were still running, and at the speed the four of you were approaching, it would have been impossible for you to have gone unnoticed. So it was then, that you skidded to a stop just as Stephen turned to face you. 

He’s eyes locked with yours for a moment before he turned his head to cough. 

“Stephen.” You acknowledged curtly.

“(Y/N),” he fell into step next to Parker, who struck up a conversation about homework or something.

“Oof.” Quill whispered. “You and Strange going through a rough patch?”

“No, we’re not together.” You hissed.

“Okay angry little bear, I believe you.” Quill wrapped his arm around your shoulder, patting softly and pulling you close. It was both a comforting, and condescending gesture, and you didn’t really mind it.

A sideways look from Stephen said that he did.

But of course it wasn’t of any concern to him now was it?

***

“Identity.” Professor Wayne began.

The classroom was buzzing with students, all excited about today’s lesson. 

“For privacy’s sake, it’s highly recommended that each and every one of you come up with an alter ego for the public to know. Trust me, hero work is far more simple with...”

You couldn’t help but lose focus as he lectured. Typically, you were a fairly attentive student, and today should have been a typical day. But you were entirely distracted and it was only partly your fault.

Stephen, the absolute prick that he was, had sat down directly in front of you, which despite your best efforts, had led to an irrepressible loop of last night’s dream in your head. Every single electric touch, every damn noise. Every-

Parker, who was seated to your left, kicked your shin. Hard.

You whipped your head to the side. “What the hell Peter?” You hissed.

Parker grinned apologetically, pointing behind you.

As you turned, you found yourself face to face with Professor Wayne, who maintained an glare.

“Do you need me to repeat the question?” He growled.

Everyone was looking at you, including Stephen who had an annoying hint of a smirk on his face.

You swallowed your embarrassment , “Yes sir.”

***

As soon as class had ended, you made a beeline for the door. No talking to friends, no passing Go, no collecting $200. You just needed a moment to cool down and collect your thoughts. 

Of course though, an arm linked through yours and you realized that you weren’t going to get a moment. You didn’t even need to look over to know that it was Stephen.

“What are you doing?” You meant to sound angry, but it came out as more of a whimper.

He didn’t respond, tugging you into a janitorial closet and flicking on the light.

It was a cramped space, with wall to ceiling shelves that left just barely enough room for two people to stand.

“You knew the answer to that question, why didn’t you answer?”

“Huh?” You were confused. “Why do you care?”

“Not only did you not answer the question, you just didn’t respond, like you were off in another world, and I can’t help but wonder-“

“What is this?” You interrupted.

He paused. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You pulled me into this closet like some shitty romcom, and so now all I can think is that you’re about to kill me, or kiss me again, because that’s what happens in closets. But based on our last interaction it can’t possibly be a kiss which means you’re about to wizard murder me and I really wasn’t planning on dying today so-“

“I’m not here to kill you or kiss you I just wanted to know-“

“So you pulled me into a closet to ask why I failed to answer a question?”

“No, I...”

It was silent for a moment, the tension thick enough to slice.

Stephen stiffened, eyes darting between your eyes and your lips. 

He didn’t say anything, and you didn’t say anything, but he moved closer. An inch, maybe two, which ordinarily would have been imperceptible but not in this small closet. In here, every small movement was noticeable. A strand of hair falling across his brow, his tongue passing softly over his lips, his head tilting slightly to the side, his eyes closing, as he leaned in, and suddenly he was kissing you. It was soft at first, sweet and needy. But the longer you stayed connected, the deeper it became. 

The kiss morphed into something more lustful. Awestruck, electricity danced between his fingertips and your skin as his hands hovered over your arms, never making contact. 

And then there was thunder in your ears. His hands were on your waist, and he was pressing you into the metal shelving, which under any other circumstance would hurt, but you were buzzing with so much energy right now you barley noticed. The only touch points that held your attention were his fingers, ghosting over the exposed skin between the waistband of your pants and the hemline of your shirt, and his leg, pressed in between your thighs, providing far too little friction to do anything, but just enough to draw your attention there, and to your bottom lip, which he’d captured between his leaving no space for you to breathe or speak, but you could moan. And you did.

He laughed, deep and throaty, genuinely amused.

“What?” You couldn’t help but laugh yourself, even if you weren’t sure why.

“I’m sorry I just, this is not what I intended I swear.”

“So you didn’t pull me into a closet to make out with me?”

“I did not.” His inflection was genuine. “I did however, enjoy it.” There was a touch of amusement in his voice.

“I did... too.” You lilted.

“Are we done?” 

“In here, or?”

“No I mean are we done dancing around whatever this is?”

“I believe referring to it as ‘whatever this is’ is still dancing around the subject.” You replied.

“Fair point. Well in lieu of becoming the sort of friends that apparently make out in cleaning closets, would you like to go out on a proper date with me, and then we can be the sort of friends who go on dates and make out in cleaning closets.”

“I think I would like that.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Do we have to stop kissing right this moment?” He asked, a bit bashful, but hopeful still.

“Definitely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say, Endgame inspired my imagination.
> 
> You know the drill, kudos and comments are appreciated, if you have any thoughts I’d love to hear them :)
> 
> Xx Ace


End file.
